Find Me
by Obsidian Tear
Summary: Something terrible brews in the Underworld... something big. Can the Jedi and friends find it and stop it before the entire Galaxy's at risk? Or will every go horribly wrong? Rated M for rape, torture, language, and violence. Used to be titled Off the Radar rewrite. Official title: Find Me Before I Fall
1. Chapter 1

Hello there, Fanfiction! I know I have been gone for a while, but I had started on a few stories and kind of gotten lost in the midsts. And then there's the school issue...

Well, as much as I hate to say it, I have second judged my original Off the Radar; so I have rewritten it. It contains nothing supernatural other than the Force. However, it is much darker than the original version... and it is longer.

You can ask why I decided to write it; all I can say was that I wasn't happy. You can read the two and compare, and chose the one which best suits you. I do not care. I just think this is written better and makes more sense. Hey, what can I say? Practice makes perfect.

The first few chapters are relatively the same, and you may notice this; the characters are also relatively the same, except for a few OCs I added.

After that wait, I bring you the rewritten and revised Off the Radar. Enjoy.

Disclamer: I do not own Star Wars, the Clone Wars, or anything related in the cannon.

* * *

_"So, if we hit here, here, here, here, and here, we might be able to stir up a few answers." _Stated the hologram of Anakin Skywalker, as he pointed to the red lights that blipped on the blue holo-map. Ahsoka jotted a few notes down in her data-pad, before gazing up at the hologram of her master. _"Are you okay, Snips? I can sense your anxiety from here."_

Anakin gave his padawan an inquisitive glance, with a blue eyebrow raised. She gave him a fake smile, and nodded.

"I'm fine, Master. I'm just a little nervous." Ahsoka wrung her hands under the table, and bit her bottom lip.

She again glanced at the map; her master had given her a simple recon mission, and, of course, Rex was enduring it with her. But that wasn't what had her so worried. Any **normal** recon mission would've been fine, but this one…..

Anakin was convinced that she could do it, but she wasn't so sure of herself. The council had received a series of chilling transmissions from various people; senators, Jedi, even bounty hunters and Lux Bonteri left transmissions, pleading for help. At first, the council was skeptical, as they should've been; then the missing reports came in.

So, naturally, they sent her in with an elite squad of recon troopers and Rex. They were to stay low, asking around for last reported sightings; it was a mission like this when she doubted her longevity. She had been having dreams for weeks -premonitions are more like it- and she doubted that she'd live much longer.

Ahsoka pulled the missing list up again, before cancelling out her conversation with her master. The list had grown since the morning; the list consisted mostly of minor figures, but the newest reports included wider known characters. Like Riyo Chuchi, senator for the icy planet of Pantora. Or Sugi, the honorable bounty huntress she worked with on Felucia. One name, in particular, caught her attention: it was Halire Secor, a rogue Jedi Master who specialized in covert missions.

Ahsoka rubbed her eyes, and sighed; she had been sensing a great disturbance in the Force lately. It was so concentrated and strong, she couldn't sleep at night; she lay awake, listening to the not-so-subtle moans of the Force. Combine that with her frightening premonitions, she opted not to even try sleeping. Ahsoka slunk back into her seat, before turning the machine off.

The Jedi requested she stay at the temple until they got the all-clear from Anakin. He was scoping out the lower levels of Coruscant, with over three squads accompanying him. Once he cleared the Underworld, then her squad and she would come in and take over.

Ahsoka groaned, as pre-mission worries ran through her head; what if she failed, and ended up dying? What if she had to lie….or…..or…..?

"Gods, I need sleep." Ahsoka murmured, before getting up, and moving towards her bed-mat. It was only then that she heard a knock on the door. With an ill-tempered groan, she navigated to the other side of the room. "Can I help you?"

The door slid open, revealing an eerily calm Captain Rex. The light cast on his blue striped armor created almost an illusion; it's as if Ahsoka could see all her dead troopers in one man. And it made her terribly sick inside. His hair was blonde and short, as always; though, it was different somehow. As were his honey eyes, which shimmered in uncertainty.

With his hands laced behind his back, and his almost calm composure, one would've thought he was worry-free. But Ahsoka could feel the storm raging within him; this was a strange assignment. To some extents, it was frightening, for they had no idea who or what they were facing.

Ahsoka sighed in relief, before giving him a weary smile. "Oh, Rex, it's you. How'd you get into the temple?"

The clone captain shifted, before giving the teen Togruta a grunt. "Who else did you expect? General Skywalker is still out, and I doubt the council is brave enough to interrupt you this late at night." A grin ghosted on his face. "And they let me in. I told them I had to talk to you."

Ahsoka grinned, before letting the captain into her den. He took a seat on the floor, watching as she did the same. "What's bothering you, Rex?"

His hands tapped his armored knee nervously, and he sighed. "Dreams; they're what's bothering me. I have them all the time, and they aren't pretty." He ran his hand through his blonde, short-cropped hair. Ahsoka shook her head; everyone these days had dreams.

"Yeah, I know how you feel." Ahsoka murmured, before taking one of his hands in hers. "What can I do for you?"

Rex looked at their hands, before giving her a glance. He shook his head, and got up promptly.

"I'm afraid you can't do anything." His voice was laced with icicles, and his eyes were harshly distant. He headed towards her door, before turning to her. "The council told me that they need to talk to you."

With that, he left. Ahsoka sighed, before getting up. "Council. Great."

* * *

Ahsoka tapped her foot subtly, as the council discussed the upcoming mission. They went over everything again, before giving her new information. They voiced their worries to her, and advised caution.

"We do not want to worry you, but your master has temporarily gone off the radar." Master Windu grimaced, and Ahsoka let out a small gasp. Before she could say anything, he continued. "This, however, is on purpose. The clones are keeping a good eye on him, and we expect his next transmission soon."

Ahsoka calmed herself; Skyguy knew what he was doing. She had no reason to doubt him, but she did feel a slight uneasiness in the pit of her stomach.

"Alright, are you, Padawan Tano?" Grand Master Yoda asked, and Ahsoka nodded subtly. She must've been broadcasting her anxiety a little too loud. She turned to look at the other masters who gazed upon her, feeling a pang of sadness when she noticed Master Plo and Master Kenobi gone.

"I'm fine. I'm a little worried over the mission, but I'll be okay." Ahsoka grinned, hoping the council would buy it. They did, reluctantly, and they moved on. The diminutive Jedi Master gave her sympathetic glances, but she knew what he was thinking. _Calm yourself, young one. With you always, the Force is. Trust that it will guide you, you must._

Ahsoka gave a nod of appreciation to the Master, who smiled in return.

"Rest, you must, Padawan Tano. Dismissed, you are." With the official invitation to leave, Ahsoka darted to her dorm. She needed sleep, and lots of it.


	2. Chapter 2

What readers I have:

I have decided to change the rating of this story to M because I feel that some of the content is too strong for a T rating, or even a high T rating. Don't feel obligated to read it because you favorited my or followed me. Stilwater Rundeepo backed me on this decision.

I am sorry to those who don't handle M. I can tell you that a mellower story will be out sometime in the future. To those who can doe this, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. Disney does.

* * *

Ahsoka stretched, and with a predatory yawn, she sat up. She was finally blessed with sleep; it was almost funny, in a sense, because the Force all but shut up for the night. And she was thankful.

With sleepiness still hanging in the air, she shifted to check her holo-com. Noticing the little blinking light on her holo-com, she activated it. A rather testy Anakin Skywalker appeared in a shimmering blue. With hands crossed over his chest, he gave her 'the look'.

_"Snips! I've been waiting on this infernal machine for over three hours, and you're just waking up?"_ Her master gave her a glare, while Ahsoka just shrugged.

"Sorry." She yawned. "It's been the first time I've actually slept in weeks."

With that, her master's gaze softened; these were troubling times for everyone. Anakin, himself would lie awake at night, haunted by dreams of his mother. But he had Padme to talk to; every time he tried to talk to his Padawan, he found her unwilling to respond. And with Barriss gone on a mission with her master, and Rex at the barracks, Anakin feared his pupil was bottling up her emotions within her.

_"Everything is out of whack, I know. Are you sure you can't talk to me about it?"_ Anakin asked, relaxing just enough to look welcoming. But Ahsoka only tensed; her tattoos wrinkled up, and she gave him a low growl.

"I'm fine, Master! Just-." She sighed, before growling again. "Leave it at that. Please."

Anakin grimaced at his Padawan's almost cold reply; he knew something was bothering her, but he wouldn't press the matter. He looked down, before looking up at her again.

_"Well, I was just letting you know that I'm back." _He grimaced, before shaking his head. _"The council has asked me to give a full report on my little trip. Though there isn't much to report about. How are you feeling about your mission?"_

"Fine." With that, the conversation ended. Ahsoka clenched her fist, before muttering something about anger and the Force. What a great way to start her day; but she had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

* * *

_"I know this is going to sound strange, but I need your help."_ The holo-gram of a young man stuttered. Even through the masking blue of the recording, Ahsoka could still see the wild fear in his eyes. His hair was tussled; it looked as if he just got up. But the darker areas on his face hinted he had been in a fight. _"Padawan Ahsoka Tano said that if I ever needed help, I could call the Republic. You've got to listen to me….I don't have much time. I'm being followed by these strange men. They're nothing I've ever seen before."_

Ahsoka sighed; Lux was a good friend of hers. He had a rather rocky relationship with the Separatist, which could have led to his 'disappearance'. And that would've explained the disappearances of the good senators and political figures of the Republic. What it didn't explain were the bounty hunters; the Separatist would have no reason to hold them. Unless they….

Ahsoka scrolled through the transmissions; the Jedi took the liberty of archiving them, and giving her the special access codes to view them. She sat in the center of the Archives, which was an unusually quiet place; it was a place of serene beauty, completely shielded from the horrors of war. The knowledge that was hidden in this cove was knowledge that spanned over a thousand years.

Ahsoka sucked in a breath, before stopping on one. She had seen them all, a million times each, and they were all the same; it was if they were rehearsed.

Ahsoka played the transmission; unlike the others, which were sent to the Jedi's general holo-channel, this was sent to Master Kenobi's private channel. How it got there, was unknown to them.

_"General Kenobi!" _The heavily accent voice of the Zabrak woman cried. Her hair had been pulled out of the top-knot she wore, and one of her eyes was swollen shut. Fresh cuts adorned her rather fair face; her voice was hoarse and strained as if she had been screaming. _"I need your help. I can't explain it very well… just know that I need your help. I've been in deep –real deep-, and I've seen things… horrible things."_

She sucked in a breath, wheezing slightly. She ran a shaky hand down her noticeably bare shoulder, breathing a quiet breath of relaxation. Her eyes fluttered shut, but slammed open when she heard someone fumbling with the locked door.

_"Open the fuckin' door!"_ Was heard angrily in the background. She shot up, revealing the rest of her naked body. She turned to a shifting figure behind her, cursing as she turned to the comm.

_"Shit!"_ She grabbed the comm., and ducked into what looked like the refresher. _"Kenobi, listen to me; something is brewing in the Underworld… something big. You've got to stop it before it becomes too large to handle."_

The huntress gasped and her attention was drawn away from the holo-comm. To where, Ahsoka did not know. She did know that someone –or something- struck the woman hard, and destroyed the communicator.

Sugi, from what Ahsoka could tell, was a strong woman; a common thug wouldn't have frightened her so. And Lux… what could possibly have scared them that much?

Ahsoka tapped the rotunda's metallic surface in frustration; she was getting nowhere! She growled, before something clicked in her mind. She rewound the tape, and her frown grew to a smile; a large hand, tattooed to the max, appeared right before Sugi was struck to the ground.

Ahsoka jumped up; suddenly, her day got better. They had a lead! She pulled out her comm., and activated it.

"Rex, we have got to talk." Ahsoka grinned, before running out of the archives.

* * *

The good captain, in his short life, had never been as stumped as he was now. He looked down at the young Togruta, who eagerly clenched her fist. He blinked, before daring to speak.

"Ah…a hand? You saw a hand?" Rex grimaced, and Ahsoka nodded. "Did you see anything else?"

Ahsoka paused, and shook her head, before shrugging. "The person was very careful to avoid anything else being seen; and you should've seen that hand! Not only was it huge, but is was tattoed like he was some sort of living canvas!"

Rex nodded, before tilting his head to the side. "We have some progress then, right?"

Ahsoka nodded, before gazing at the captain; his honey eyes shone with uncertainty, drawing her to look at them without ceasing. She found herself lost in the smooth sincerity in those beautiful eyes. Rex cracked a slight grin, as he noticed her lost in his eyes.

Ahsoka eventually shook herself out of her musings, before turning to him. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but was interrupted by her comm. link.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, before answering the call.

"_Hey, Snips, can you meet me on the landing platform? We need to go over the specifics before you head out."_ The Jedi known as Anakin groaned. He sighed. _"Can you get a hold of Rex for me? He isn't answering his comm."_

Ahsoka looked over to Rex, who shrugged. "Ah, sure Master. We'll be right there."

* * *

Anakin tapped his foot impatiently; he hated that his padawan was so poky, especially when they had important things to do. He turned away from the exit, so he was facing the expanse of whizzing speeders and towering buildings.

"Sorry Master!" Ahsoka's feminine voice called, before appearing beside him. Anakin turned to look at the arrivals, before shaking his head.

"Snips, you've got to learn how to get places on time." Anakin grinned, and Ahsoka shook her head.

"I learn from the best." She replied cheekily, before turning to the approaching clone troopers. "They must be our entourage?"

Anakin nodded, as the clones stopped before them, and saluted stiffly. "Yep, they're it."

Ahsoka took time to take all of them in. The first was the stiffest of all; he kept his regulation buzz-cut, and had no tattoos. The only way to distinguish him from a regular shiny was the long, jagged scar that cut diagonally down his face. His armor was painted red, with a phoenix on his right shoulder.

"The first one's Shocks, from the Phoenix squad." The trooper saluted, before backing away. "The second one is Torrent, from Hurricane squad."

Torrent was named accordingly, Ahsoka noticed. He bit his bottom lip and wrung his hands in anticipation. His hair was shaved off, and a lightning bolt was tattooed over his right eye. His armor was a sky blue.

"And that's Sting, Ricochet, Flip, and Seth, from….. what squad are you on?" Anakin turned, and Seth shrugged.

"We aren't on any squad, really. We're just recon troopers." The last four looked just the same; no tattoos, scars, or distinct markings. They were like quadruplets; they all looked, and acted the same. Their armor was plain white.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ahsoka Tano; I'm leading this mission. This is Captain Rex, though you all know that." The clones saluted again, before Anakin nodded.

"Good, let's get down to business."

* * *

"I have okayed all these areas." Anakin pointed at the blinking areas on his portable holo-map, and the clones nodded. Ahsoka just yawned. "However, I'd stay out of this area."

He gestured to one small area on the map. Ahsoka blinked, before raising a white brow-tattoo.

"Why?"

Anakin blinked; he hadn't expected any questions, especially from his padawan, who had been preparing for this mission for a week. He gave her a glare, before sighing.

"Unless you want to run into Cad Bane or Aurra Sing right now, I suggest you stay out." Ahsoka mouthed an 'oh', before letting her master continue. He glanced down at the map, before turning it off. "It seems like your set. Are you ready, Snips?"

Ahsoka nodded eagerly, before turning to the clones. "Yeah! Let's get this show on the road!"

* * *

Yep. Peace.

Reviews are appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

:) I guess there is nothing to say other than enjoy and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Clone Wars, or any name you recognize from that franchise.

* * *

The speeders touched down in a shady area in the Mid Level of Coruscant. There, the clones hid their armor in favor of something….less conspicuous than their GAR regulation armor. Ahsoka had a feeling that storming the Underworld with a small team of clones would only stir up trouble. But, if they changed, she would have to explain why the boys all looked the same. 'Ah, they're….how many of you are there? Seven? They're septuplets!' No matter how hard she tried to make that statement work, it just wouldn't.

But they changed anyways, into matching white tunics, and brown trousers. Ahsoka just shook her head, before hopping back into the speeder. They resumed their descent to the lower levels of the city planet.

They parked the speeders in an abandoned lot just outside the entrance to the Underworld. Ahsoka sucked in her breath, before entering the place of her nightmares.

Smoke hung low in the air, swirling around the bodies of the scum who inhabited these parts. The stench of stale alcohol, sweat, vomit, and all sorts of undesirable smells mixed with the smoky scent, creating an interesting combination unpleasant to the nose. Music blared, and people rambled in their own languages, creating a hubbub of unintelligible jargon.

Half-formed creatures limped out of alleyways, before cowering back into their territory. Bounty hunters and various criminals amassed the streets; they poured out of bars and houses of ill-repute, their hands resting on their blasters in preparation for a fight. Lights from the nearest club blinded one if they were looked at too long.

In the midst of all of this were eight people; they looked like any ordinary people, save the septuplet complex and the Togruta girl.

Ahsoka blinked and looked around; she had been in the Underworld before, but for short periods of time. She was now going to spend weeks on end in the wretched stink-hole.

"Wow…. And this is part of Coruscant?" Ahsoka turned slightly towards Rex, who gave her a grin.

"Welcome to the real galaxy." Torrent piped up, before taking a place beside her. Ahsoka regarded him, before they continued into the sea of criminals. "Isn't it lovely?"

Ahsoka stopped, and turned to him. "Lovely?" She scoffed, before continuing. "On what planet is this lovely?"

Torrent only grinned. "Tattooine, of course"

Ahsoka only rolled her eyes, and they continued, unaware they were being watched.

* * *

They had been wandering for hours; Ahsoka's holo-map malfunctioned, leaving them to their own devices.

They managed to exit the frenzy of convicts, to a calmer, but no less sleazy, part of the city world. Although there were less people, the ones who were there were a little….touchy-feely. Ahsoka stayed close to her clone captain, especially when the drunken men brushed up against her.

Rex, on the other hand, was set in an awkward position; his commander was so close to him, he'd step on her heels, and bump into her seemingly fragile body. One part of him purred, while another grimaced; he was a walking contradiction lately, and this only confused him more.

They continued on, and the traffic became worse as they went on. They were shoved all about, ramming into one person, who shoved them into another. They ended up on the ground, crawling, and protecting their heads against careless feet.

"Well, isn't this great?" Ahsoka murmured back to Rex, who grunted as a rather corpulent man stepped on his hand.

"Yeah, wonderful." He careened to one side to avoid being stepped on. Ahsoka did the same, before the group crawled into an abandoned alleyway. They stood up for the first time in the last half a mile.

Ahsoka looked down at her bleeding hands, before wiping them on her skirt. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

She started backing out, and Sting's –or she thought it was Sting- eyes bugged out.

"Commander, watch….!" His warning came too late, as she turned, and ran straight into a mountain of a man. The force of her turn caused her to bounce back; that caused her to fall onto her butt. Before she knew it, she was looking cross-eyed into the barrel of a blaster.

"Watch it, little lady!" The owner growled, before holstering his blaster, and moving on. Ahsoka only blinked, before two of her clone entourage ran to her, and helped her up. Ahsoka wiped the dust off of her outfit, before walking out of the alley.

"Nice guy." She murmured, before dashing into the street. The clones followed closely behind, as they headed away from the crowd of rabble-rousers.

Ahsoka huffed, as she took out her holo-map again; be it miracle or something, but it activated.

"Thank the gods!" She murmured in delight, before the clones gathered around her. She observed the map again, before the map sputtered out again.

They stood in front of a rather lively club; people came and went, talking to their accomplices or wallowing in their own self-pity. Some would inconspicuously peer over the group's shoulders to see what was going on, but they often walked away in disappointment.

Ahsoka growled, before shoving the portable device into her utility belt; the thing was useless.

"Okay, so we'll wing it." She looked at her chrono, which also seemed to be malfunctioning. "Anyone have a chrono that's working? Because no matter what it says, it's not three hours after sunrise."

The clones simultaneously pulled out the chronos the Jedi gave them, and all shouted different times.

"Odd. I'm pretty sure we synced the chronos while we were at the Temple." Rex mused, before tapping the device at his wrist. Ahsoka pursed her lips, before shaking her head.

"Anyways, I think we should bunker down for the night. You guys wouldn't happen to know where a good hotel is, would you?"

"You're asking us?" Torrent grimaced. "We're clones; it's not like we vacation a lot."

Ahsoka only rolled her eyes; Torrent was a lot like Hardcase, in that whole shoot 'em up, energetic way. He gave her a cocky grin, before rubbing his hands nervously.

"Ha ha." She grinned, sarcasm dripping in her voice. "Okay, I guess that's a no."

They then turned to the club they stood before, and grimaced simultaneously. Ahsoka shrugged.

"I guess we can ask around." And they headed towards the club.

* * *

Ahsoka looked at the door, before turning to her entourage. They gave her a grin, and, encouraged, she turned to the door again. However, she again, ran into a figure; a very well-built figure that smelled of alcohol and death.

Ahsoka sucked in a breath, before the figure spoke.

"Ain't you a little young to be entering a place like this?"

Ahsoka gazed up at the figure, who blocked the entrance to the club. One spindly blue arm rested on the doorframe, while the other lay idly at his side, tapping his blaster with knobby fingers.

She immediately backed away, into the protection of her clone entourage. The Duros only grinned, before tipping his hat down slightly.

"Get out of the way, Bane." Ahsoka growled, before crossing her arms over her chest. Bane kept grinning.

"Whatcha doin' all the way down 'ere, youngling?" Cad Bane asked, and Ahsoka growled. "Ain't you a little too far from your master?"

"First off, that's none of your business; there's no fraternizing with the enemy." She put emphasis on 'enemy', causing Bane to frown. She took a step towards the bounty hunter. "Secondly, I'm not a youngling; and I'm sure we've already established that."

Bane took a step out of the door way, his hands resting on his blasters, as if to make him seem more threatening. The plan failed, however, as several blasters were shoved in his face in defense. Knowing he was outnumbered and outgunned, he stepped aside, muttering how they 'weren't worth the trouble'.

Ahsoka and her entourage strode forward, before entering the club.

Sultry music bellowed through the club, droning out the drunken jargon and moans of delight from patrons enjoying their drinks. The place smelled like the streets; a burning, putrid odor that made bile rise into one's throat. The fog-like smoke was thicker in there, distorting the vision of those who dared to enter. Combine the smoke with the multi-colored, nausea-inducing lights, and it was utter madness.

Twi'lek girls danced upon the stage, practically naked and emaciated; although they looked like hell, they must've been having a good time, for they smiled and laughed. Or maybe they were drunk; either was possible.

Other ladies of various species stood in the back, waiting for a man to join them to commit what was sinful.

Ahsoka blinked, before turning to the clones. Shocks and Rex shared the same expression of fright, while the quads (Sting, Flip, Ricochet, and Seth) looked faint. Torrent was probably the only one who was having a mildly fun time. He did a little dance, before heading over towards the bar.

"I'll keep an eye on Torrent." Shocks grimaced, before following the younger trooper. Rex gave Ahsoka a glance, before shaking his head. Ahsoka raised a brow-tattoo.

"What?"

Rex grimaced, as a customer vomited in the corner. "This wasn't one of your best plans."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, before glancing at her captain. "Do you have a better plan?" The captain just shrugged. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

Rex gave her narrow-eyed glance, before she took a step forward. Her cerulean eyes scanned the scene; she was scouting for familiar faces. Her logic was that if Bane was there, than other bounty hunters would be too. And she was right.

It wasn't long before she spotted the unmistakably tall ponytail of Aurra Sing, the lumbering figure of Bossk, and various others she recognized. She backed into her captain, who put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Talk about a bounty hunter safe haven! Maybe it **was** a good idea to storm the Underworld.

"I think we should get lost; we'll have a better chance of surviving if we find a hotel ourselves." Ahsoka muttered to her companion, who nodded in agreement. Rex gestured to the two at the bar, and to the quads; they got the message, and slowly, they began their retreat.

They cleared the club, with chuckles from Bane, and protests from Torrent. But that didn't matter; they needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

Once a goodly distance away, Ahsoka turned to her escort, her face pale. She looked down at the chrono again, only to see the numbers spinning; stupid thing could even give her the right time. In frustration, she yanked the device off of her wrist, and threw it to the ground.

"Okay, here's the game plan." She murmured, before looking up at them. "I think I remember a hotel a ways back. We'll stay the night there, and we'll start our investigation tomorrow. I hope, by then, my holo-map will be working."

The clones agreed, and the little group headed out, leaving the broken chrono on the ground.

* * *

After about an hour, the group found the hotel, rented a room, and after a few minutes, the place was filled with snoring. Ahsoka however, could not sleep; so she discreetly turned the light on, and pulled her holo-map. With a crude flathead screw-diver, she pried the mechanism apart, before digging around, and assessing it. Thing was, everything checked out fine; the battery was in place, the wires were not faulty or clipped, and the viewing mechanism was working.

Ahsoka pursed her lips, and put it back together; when it was meshed, she turned it on, but only for a moment. It died only moments afterwards.

Frustrated, she tossed the holo-map into her utility belt, before jumping onto the hotel bed. She had better get sleep, before it was too late.

* * *

_Ahsoka took a deep breath, as she headed towards the entrance to a large building. She was not on Coruscant, nor any planet she had ever been on. It was bitingly cold, but the three suns shone brilliantly. She took a step forward, but was stopped by an outrageous firefight; she could not see who was fighting, or where it was coming from. She only felt a hand on her shoulder; a warm, strong, familiar hand._

"_I got your back, commander." A masculine voice called; a masculine voice she knew all too well._

_Ahsoka took another step, before darting into the building. Her captain followed, but when they got far enough in, Ahsoka was shot from behind. She fell…._

Ahsoka sat up, sweat pouring off her. She let her heart-rate slow, before lying back, and looking up at the ceiling; she had a feeling that she would not get much more sleep that night.

* * *

A serene, cloaked figure wandered the streets that night, his hands weaved together behind his back. He surreptitiously looked from side to side, before his foot hit a small, crushed mechanism. He stooped over to pick it up, a grin forming on his face. It seemed as though his boss's little plan had worked.

He flicked the chrono gently, causing the numbers to spin slightly until they rested upon a few numbers; 12:33 showed through the shattered glass. He tossed it around in his hands, before tossing the chrono in his pocket.

Oh, the boss would be pleased for sure.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don not own the Clone Wars. All the clones but Rex are mine, as are the names Cabre Mira and Casanda.

Reviews are appreciated.

* * *

Ahsoka awoke with a start; after the dream she had earlier, she was sure she wasn't going to get one more minute of sleep. But somehow, she managed to drift off again….only to be awakened again by the same dream.

Quietly, she sat up, and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She gazed at the bedside chrono; it was four hours after midnight. With a groan, she got up, and stumbled sleepily to the refresher.

Once in the confines of the small, hardly-fit-for-a-refresher 'fresher, she looked up at the thin glass sheet used as a mirror; goodness she looked like crap. She touched her face lightly, her worn, calloused hands dwelling on the roundness of her sienna cheek. Her white facial tattoos were grey with dust, despite the fact that she washed regularly.

All three of her lekku were intact, and her montrals did not ache from the deafening ringing of a concussion. Ahsoka gently touched her Akul-tooth headdress for reassurance; she was not bruised and bloodied, like her dream portrayed. She was still the beautiful, smart, tired-as-heck padawan of the Chosen One.

She turned on the cold water, the spigot letting out a dusty cough before the freezing life-line burst forth. Shoving her hands underneath it, Ahsoka splashed some of it onto her face, letting the mind-numbing cold awaken her.

Feeling rather refreshed, she turned to the towel sitting beside her; she strutted out of the restroom, her eyes catching on the three stirring clones; did they really normally wake up this early? She watched as they stretched, and groaned sleepily.

"Morning, boys. Did ya sleep well?"

"Like a rock!" Torrent piped, before getting up and heading towards the refresher. Seth and Ricochet would have nothing of it, so they darted past him, each giving the other a rough shove in a mad attempt to get to the 'fresher first. Rex, who had joined Ahsoka, gave the boys a disappointed frown.

"Boys!" He shouted in that captainly voice he always used; he was not in the mood for insubordination or funny business. "Where are your manners? Commander Tano gets the first turn."

The three clones let out a huff, before stepping aside and giving their commander access to the door. However, she just shook her head, and the clones went tumbling over each other again. Ahsoka just shook her head, before heading over towards her side of the room. Rex, who was concerned by his commander's tired and sunken face, followed her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Did you sleep okay?"

Ahsoka's face froze, before she forced a smile to it, and turned. "Of course. What gave you that impression?"

Rex blinked hesitantly, before shrugging and giving her space. Apparently he was worried, because unlike Torrent, he had slept rather fitfully, awaking at any sudden noise; when he awoke, he saw the Commander tossing and turning, moaning as if she were in pain. But he knew better than to push the matter; the Commander could be brutal if she were bothered.

With a sleepy sigh, she turned to the boys. "I'll be back in ten. You all better be ready when I come back."

With that, she headed out the door.

* * *

Ahsoka looked at her troops with a smile; they all gazed intently at the holo-map (Ahsoka woke up the receptionist, and asked to borrow it). She took out the data-chip from her holo-map, and inserted it into the working one.

The room was illuminated in a shimmering blue, and the whole Underworld was mapped out before them. Certain areas blinked red, while others blinked green; this was a color-coded system, red meaning stay out, and green meaning good to go.

"So here's the plan; General Skywalker got around to checking these areas before he was pulled out." Ahsoka gestured to the green areas. "From what I can gather, he didn't find much. So I figure our smartest move is to start with these areas."

Ahsoka gestured to the red areas. She then cast a glance to Rex, who looked up nonchalantly; however, Ahsoka could feel the turmoil within him. He was not fond of her brilliant suicide plan; however, it was the best they could do at the time.

"We will start with this area, the Casanda sector. It is notorious for high-end criminals and, uh, prostitutes." Ahsoka looked dire for only a moment, before a smile blossomed on her face. "Because of this, Torrent will be under strict watch, and if anything happens to me, Rex is in charge."

The look on Torrent's face was priceless; his mouth hung agape, and he gave Ahsoka a glare. With an uncharacteristic pout, he looked away; in moments, however, he turned back, and stuck his tongue out.

"In all seriousness, though, we are looking for clues to the disappearances; I have info about certain areas that seem to be favored by the kidnappers. Keep a sharp eye for foul-play, and watch your backs. You are dismissed."

* * *

Ahsoka glanced from side to side, before gesturing to her colleagues; they were at the edge of Casanda, where, unfortunately, most of the criminals flocked to. And if they thought the previous sector was bad, then they had some learning to do.

The streets were trashed with, well, junk; metal shards from bottles, cans, paper products, and some rather unsavory substances blanketed the ground. If one were to look close enough, they could see specks of blood.

People congregated in the streets, many preoccupied with drowning their fortunes with booze, smokes, and pretty girls. Because of this, the smoke was particularly thick, and restricting.

Ahsoka let out a small cough, before looking to Rex; the honey-eyed trooper gave her a small grin.

"Where to, commander?" The other clones looked at the young Togruta expectantly. Ahsoka grimaced, before taking out her data-pad and glancing at it. Her grimace only deepened.

"Uh, to a hotel, deep into the sector, named Cabre Mira." Ahsoka took a step into the minefield, with the others following closely behind her.

Immediately, the group was mobbed with street-walkers; multiple female figures approached the group, beckoning for the clones to follow them. And when words didn't work, they resorted to touch; hands feeling and squeezing, bodies pressed hard against bodies, lips wandering. However, they backed off when men of…..higher caliber approached.

Ahsoka, who was shaken although she was not the one being mobbed, turned slightly to the men; it was probably as foreign for them as it was for her. The quads had fear in their eyes, hinting at something beneath the surface of their perfect façade; she'd ask them about that afterwards. Shocks looked rather unshaken; she'd also ask about that.

Ahsoka glanced to Rex, who stood strong in body, but faltered in spirit. Ahsoka looked forward, before starting forward again. Hopefully, they would not have to endure that again.

The group moved further into the sector, past the various houses of ill-repute, where girls were calling to them, hoping for attention…..and money. However, the further they went, the more people called out to _Ahsoka._ This turned Ahsoka bright orange; the clones placed their hands on their blasters, just in case.

They continued through the trashy streets, turning their eyes away from couples who couldn't afford to get a room. Or were they showing off?

One person caught Ahsoka's eye, though; it was kind of hard not to see him, for he stuck out like a sore thumb. Ahsoka's eyes flicked between him and her clone entourage, watching as the clones tightened their grip on the handle of the blaster.

The bounty hunter was rather occupied, though, and she doubted he even saw them; she didn't know how wrong she was.

For as they left, his amber eyes lifted, the look in his eyes cold and calculating.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello all! Thank all of you who read this, favorited this, or reviewed. I would like it if people reviewed once they were finished reading. No pressure though.

This chapter is where it gets 'M' rated. There is a rape scene; I'm not sure how explicit or descriptive it is, so beware.

I forgot to say it in the last chapters, but thanks to my friend Stilwater Rundeepo for helping me make this run smoother. I am grateful for her help.

Disclaimer: I don't own Clone Wars. I do own the hotel and many of the clones.

By the way, if anyone has a suggestion for a new title for this story, put it in a review or PM me.

* * *

Ahsoka gazed up at the building in front of her. It was two kilometers from the border of the sector, and for a 'missing' hotspot, it wasn't anything she would imagine. She thought it would be a rather grand; a place where the rich mercenaries and criminals would stay, relax, and enjoy the company of their female –or male- companions.

This place was rather squat for a hotel, but it still had at least two hundred rooms. Some of the wall was crumbling, and the neon sign that hung above the entrance was blinking. Ahsoka turned to Rex, who gave her a rather silly grin.

She headed towards the door, before pressing her sienna hands against the glass. With only a little strength, she pushed the door open.

Ahsoka was immediately hit with the smell of T'bac and musty materials. The wallpaper that covered the entire room was faded, and in some spots, torn; the walls were crumbled. The reception area was small; there were no windows, so the only access to the outside world was the doors.

There was only a desk in the small room; well, except the door that led to the leased rooms. Siting at the desk was a rather bored-looking Weequay man. Ahsoka trudged up to the counter, with her companions behind her.

"Can I help you?" The Weequay drawled. Ahsoka rested her arms on the counter, her fingers drumming nervously. She sighed, before turning to her captain for support. Rex gave her a subtle grin, before gesturing for her to answer.

"I would like to rent a room; specifically room 124."

The Weequay shook his head, before adjusting his white tunic. "Are you sure? The room is haunted; people who've stayed in that room have gone missin'." Ahsoka nodded, and he shook his head, before bending over. He pulled out a key card, before reluctantly handing it to her. "I hope you ain't cops or anything, 'cause I would be in a deep pile of shit if you are."

Ahsoka gave the receptionist a grin, before slipping the key card into her pockets. "Oh, don't worry. We're nothing like that."

The receptionist nodded, as if thanking them, before opening the door. Ahsoka walked past him, winking, before bouncing up the stairs. Her entourage followed closely behind, bounding and leaping over two or three steps at a time.

They traveled down the endless hallways, before finding the right room. They slid the keycard into its slot, before entering the room.

Ahsoka wrinkled her nose, as she observed the room; it was a small room, with one king-sized bed, one lamp, a desk, and a dresser. The wall paper was even more faded than it was in the lobby, and there were some holes in the wall – perhaps someone was angry.

There was one window, with no shades or curtains.

One light hung from the roof, and even that didn't light the whole room. Bugs scurried around on the ground, the bed, and there were even some on the wall. Bottles of various alcohols littered the floor, along with clothes of various genders. The room stunk of must, stale alcohol, and stale smoke.

Rex followed closely behind her, the look on his face matching her. It was a gross room; apparently people were so afraid of it, that they couldn't clean the dang place. Ahsoka, reluctantly, bent down to observe the place better. As the little group shuffled in, Ahsoka stood up, with a rather grim look dancing on her face.

"This is useless!" She growled, throwing her hands into the air. "I can't find anything, not even a drop of blood!"

Ahsoka crouched down again, before pulling out a little device; she moved towards the pile of clothes, before running it over the articles.

"Information Retrieval, I need DNA scans for any known persons in the galaxy." Ahsoka whispered to it. The device blinked, bleeped, before glowing up. Unfortunately, it wasn't the answer Ahsoka was looking for. A little hologram popped up, reading: DNA samples are unknown. Ahsoka growled, before shoving it into her utility belt.

"So, we are back where we started, aren't we?" Rex murmured, earning a rather stern glare from his Jedi commander. Ahsoka huffed, before standing up to her full height. She brushed herself off, before closing her eyes; she wanted to see if the Force gave her any insight.

She saw more than she expected:

_The Zabraki huntress sat at the desk in the corner of the room, her eyes glued to a data-pad in her hands. A grin spread across her face as she reached for a pack of cigs on the desk._

_She swiftly lit one, before turning to the door; had someone knocked, or was it her imagination? She got up cautiously, grabbing the blaster at her side, and walked to the door._

_She opened the door, to see no one. Hmm…..maybe she did hear something. _

Ahsoka shook slightly as she exited the vision; it was so vivid and real. She turned to Rex, her eyes widened slightly, before shifting away to look out the window. Interesting…..

Ahsoka gave her small group an uneasy grin. "I saw something; a simple, rather sublime scene. I think I can pry further….. Keep a steady look out for me, will ya?"

Rex gave her a nod, before grabbing at his blaster. The other troopers followed suit, taking vantage points at the window and by the door.

Ahsoka, meanwhile, had nestled herself down on the chair by the desk in the vision. Her crystalline eyes were seemingly glued shut, her breathing controlled and slow, as she tried to stir up the vision again.

_Sugi had shaken her head in annoyance, before heading back to her seat…only to find it occupied. She stepped back, dropping the cig onto the floor. The darkly clad man in her seat stood up, causing her to unsheathe her blaster in self-defense._

"_I will not hesitate to shoot!" She shouted, her blaster cocked and ready. The man moved towards her, his hands in the air; Sugi lowered her blaster for a moment, only to have another set of hands grab her roughly. She twisted and turned, wiggling her way out of the guy's grip, stomping on his foot to distract him. She shoved her blaster into his face, cocking it emphatically; the other guy started towards her, but she unsheathed her viroblade, and gave it a hard toss. The second guy fell to the ground, wrapping his hands around the blade that was stuck in his chest._

_She turned to the second guy, who gave her a smile. "You wouldn't shoot me darling, would ya?"_

_She gave him a growl, her finger slowly reaching for the trigger. Before she could actually pull the trigger, she was grabbed from behind by large hands. She struggled against the arms, but she didn't struggle for long as a large needle was stuck into her arm._

_She looked down, her vision blurring quickly. Her eyes rolled back into her head, before she fell to the floor._

_The first man hefted her up, and threw her onto the bed in the room. The other darted outside, letting the first man have his fun with the unconscious woman._

Ahsoka jolted out of the vision, almost confused; the Force seemed to be giving her extra help that night. Why? She had no idea.

She turned to Rex, who peered out the window in caution; trying not to startle him, she got up quietly, and headed over towards the bed. She bent down slightly, her fingers catching on the old cigarette. She grabbed a pen that rested on the dresser, using that to pull the cig from underneath the bed. She brought out her Information Retrieval device, before running it over the cig. Bingo; there was DNA on that….. but that was seemingly the only thing with DNA. That, and the bed perhaps.

Ahsoka pulled back the blankets, revealing bloody sheets, and two shackles hanging from the bedposts. Ahsoka paused, a disturbing image manifesting itself in her mind – _Sugi thrashed, straining against the shackles and the large man that straddled her now naked pelvis. The man stroked her inner thin roughly, trying to coerce her into opening her legs; he knew what he wanted, and he wasn't going to settle until he got it._

"_C'mon, darling, open on up; I ain't gonna hurt you too bad."_ _His hand slid up her thigh, stroking her gently. She cursed in Zabraki; she was not going to do anything for anyone she didn't want to._

_He lost his patients in her resistance, ripped her legs open, taking pleasure in the moan she gritted through her teeth. Although he seemed to enjoy it, she did not. She kicked her legs out, catching him square in the gut; in a split second, she had her legs wrapped around his head, maneuvering them as to break his neck._

_He gasped for air as she yanked at the chains around her wrists; with a mighty jerk, his neck snapped and her wrists were freed. She breathed a sigh, rubbing her wrists gently; damn, she hated binders._

_She bent over to pick up her clothing, cussing the bastard; she was not very fond of rapists, for her past was filled with them. _

_There was a knock on the door, causing her to drop the clothes and start for the door._

Ahsoka shot around to Rex, who had just taken notice of her stillness. He gave her a look from the corner of his eye, before turning serenely from where he was perched.

"You found something, Commander?"

She turned to the seven clones, her eyes wide. "Bingo; we've got a small lead, however-."

She paused, hit with another image; _Lux Bonteri, his hair and face wild. He looked at the holo-cam, frightened, trying to ignore the man standing behind him with a blaster; the blaster that was aim at his back._

"_Turn it on!" The man yelled, and Lux sucked in a breath._

"_Make me." He breathed, almost instantly regretting it; the man behind him grabbed at his unruly hair, and yanked it hard._

"_Do it, child!" Still, Lux did not comply; it made him wonder why he didn't, since he was quite frightened. "Listen kid, I swear that if you don't do what I say, I will tie you to the bed and fuck you within an inch of your life!"_

_In a low voice, he added. "I've already fucked three people today, and I'm willing to do it again."_

_A lump formed in Lux's throat; okay, that was the key phrase right there. He scrambled to do so; however, not being fast enough for his captor, the barrel of the blaster was pressed harder into Lux's back._

_With a hard swallow, he began._

"_I know this is going to sound strange-."_

Ahsoka stumbled, before glancing at the clone brothers. "It was all forced; the messages were forced to be sent to the Temple."

Rex blinked. "The captor forced them to send a message to us? Why?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps the captor's challenging us."

Torrent grinned, pressing a fist to his palm; he then moved to his DC-17, a smile spreading on his face. "Well, I know I'm always up for the challenge. I'm not speaking for anyone else though."

The group unsheathed their weapons, grins catching on everyone faces.

"And I know where to begin."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: For the millionth time, I own nothing. Meh.

The Dio's and Corrino's belong to Stilwater Rundeepo. I do have permission to use them.

Again, if you have a suggestion for a new title, I will gladly consider it.

* * *

The obvious group headed throughout Casanda again, with Ahsoka leading them in confidence. They meandered back through the streets of filth and whore houses, to one specific club; above the door hung an annoying neon sign that read _Cabana._

Ahsoka stood outside the club, arms crossed over her chest; she stood before one of the patrons of the club, who was seemingly ignoring her.

"Hey!" She shouted, snapping her fingers in front of his face. The laconic bounty hunter eyed her curiously, before standing up to his full height, and turning to the group.

"_A group of clones and a Jedi…. This has got to be interesting. Speak."_

Ahsoka tapped at the lightsaber beside her warily, her eyes narrowing; well there went their disguises

"You wouldn't happen to know where your companion is, would you?"

He gave her a huff, crossing his arms over his chest. He tipped his hat down ever so slightly, before looking out among the group.

"_Which one? Rumi is dead, Seripas went back to his home planet, and haven't heard from Sugi for a while now."_

Ahsoka turned to her companions, few of which who actually understood him. Torrent was scratching his head in confusion, while two of the quads just stared blankly at the bounty hunter. Rex and Shocks just gripped tightly at their blaster; they must've had run-ins with this particular bounty hunter before.

"Is that so? You do know that Sugi has been missing for a while now."

For just a moment, he looked surprised. Then, his face fell. _"Yeah, I know."_

Ahsoka just shook her head; so he knew she was gone, yet he didn't have it in him to even try to look for her. Last time she knew, the two were good friends. Apparently not any more.

"Do you even care?"

He looked at her, his eyes lowered. _"Nope."_

Ahsoka growled, eyeing him suspiciously. She moved over towards the clones, before turning on her heels. "Well you're a big help. When we find her we'll tell her how much you cared."

They began to walk away, but were stopped by a rather quiet voice.

"_You won't find her."_ He replied to her heavily sarcastic statement. His amber eyes burned into her as he spoke. _"No matter how hard you try, you won't find any of them."_

Ahsoka turned back slightly, optimistic; this was definitely something.

"Is that so?" He nodded, before glancing at the clones and scoffing. "How do you know this?"

"_Yes, it is so. You're tangling with an organization that the entire Jedi Order would be powerless over."_

Ahsoka turned to Rex, a frown spread across her face; he avoided her second question. She turned back towards him. "You never answered my second question."

At that, his eyes went wide, and he said not another word. Ahsoka gave him a suspicious glance, before gesturing to her clones to walk away.

* * *

Ahsoka sat by a desk back in their hotel room, watching the clone troopers busy themselves with anything entertaining. Torrent was especially interested in a spider he found in the refresher, which he promptly named George. Rex and Shocks were talking strategy, while the quads were quietly playing a game of cards.

She tapped at the oaken desk, rather perturbed; what the heck did that guy mean? She was sure that the Hutt clans had no quarrel with the galactic community as a whole; sure they had enemies in single persons and small groups, but not hundreds of random people. Death Watch was taken care of, and even if there were still around, they could not muster a disappearance so large.

So, the question was….were they dealing with something ignored by the Republic as a none threat? If so, than which of the thousands of galactic gangs were involved?

Ahsoka groaned quietly; oh, her brain was beginning to hurt. She buried her head into her hands, before running through the list of gangs.

The Dio Brothers seemed likely, although their enemies outweighed their friends a thousand fold. The Corrino's were another likely group; murderers, rapists, and pedophiles made up their population, but she doubted they'd be smart enough to rally even a portion of the criminal underworld for their cause. Rapists and pedophiles were among the most hated criminals…..even by other criminals. However, the Corrino's were tied to another criminal group, the Blood Diamonds. The Blood Diamonds were a small group of thugs fronted by a former member of the Bounty Hunter's guild; he was as insane as Maul, but had the persuasion and charisma that Maul never had.

Ahsoka sat forward; they sounded like a pretty good candidate… but she had to go through all the other gangs just to make sure.

"Hey Rex, got your data-pad with ya?"

Rex looked up from his conversation with Shocks and gave her a grin. "'Course, kid; got something?"

She got up from her seat, and walked over towards the restless clones. "Yeah; you wouldn't happen to know anything on the Blood Diamonds gang would you?"

Rex blinked, giving her an indiscernible glance. "I'm afraid not, sir. You think they're linked to the disappearances?"

Ahsoka shrugged, glancing over at the other clones, before rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I'm not sure what to think. If you'd take a sneak peak at them for me… the access code into the criminal data-base is found somewhere in my notes."

Rex gave her a nod, before finding a seat and getting to work. Ahsoka sat on the couch, before wracking her mind for another moment.

"While you're at it, check up on the Black Sun Cartel, will ya?"

Rex gave her a nod, before playing around with the data-pad. Ahsoka took a seat beside him, watching his expressions carefully. His brows furrowed, and he sighed. He looked up slightly, before looking down again.

"The Black Sun hasn't been very active; only minor meetings, the most recent of which was three months ago. Although, the Blood Diamond has had an influx of activity across the galaxy; the most recent was yesterday, here on Coruscant."

Ahsoka's eyes widened, and she grinned. "Where?"

Rex stood up, moving to the window. "A warehouse a few clicks away."

* * *

The team headed out, although it was well around eight in the evening; they had a lead and they needed to act upon it. If not, they could lose the opportunity that would end their mission in a heartbeat. Ahsoka didn't know how the clones felt, but she desperately wanted to get out of the scum and villainy a.s.a.p.

Rex was right; it seemed there was something fishy going on in the warehouse they approached. Blood stains covered the outside walls like paint. Mounds of shattered glass littered the outside, along with the occasional carcass of something.

Ahsoka plugged her nose in disgust, before braving the trash to get to the back door. She unsheathed her lightsaber, before gesturing to the clones. She sucked in a breath, before grabbing at the door handle. With a mighty pull, the door popped open, revealing the darkness of the store room.

Ahsoka took half a step inward, before fumbling for a light switch of some sort. It wasn't long until she was sidling along the wall, groping along the wall for anything switch-ish. The clones entered after her, turning on their head lamps.

It took about two minutes before the switch was found and the entire room was illuminated; however, the room was much more harmless-looking without the lights on…..

A fire smoldered in the center, with different branders lying about it. Cases of what looked to be illegal substances were scattered around, some open and empty with the different substances crushed into the ground. Multiple bloody shackles hung from the ceiling, and Ahsoka felt her stomach churn; what the hell were they doing in here yesterday?

Hollow and ghostly screams filled the room; the Force cried out with sympathy for the victims of yesterday's affair.

Clutching her montrals, Ahsoka fell to the ground, bitter tears threatening to surface. She felt multiple hands on her shoulders, although she knew the clones were quite confused; they couldn't hear it like she could.

Rex hefted her up onto her feet, before turning her to face him. She looked up with a hint of uncertainty, before sighing.

"I don't understand, Rex."

Rex cocked his head to the side, before giving her a look. "Don't understand what, sir?"

She opened her mouth to answer, before she was hit with a feeling; they were being watched. She whipped around, but in the end, saw no one. She turned back, but was consumed by an image.

_The room was filled with people, dozens of people, who found amusement in the torment of others. Few of which sat around a fire, heating up their diamond branders; onlookers watched like hawks. When the branders were nice and red, people, shackled and naked, were tossed towards the fire. The entire room was filled with screams and the sizzle of burning skin._

_A young woman, Kataline in species, watched in horror as some of her friends were marked, raped, and bloodied. She backed into her captor, her '__**friend**__', who shoved her forwards. He exchanged a few harsh words at what looked like the ring leader, before turning away, and darting for the door._

_The Kataline shook, frightened, as the ring leader tossed her into the crowd of monsters; before long, she too was exposed, and looking straight into the diamond brander. The man wielding it looked to be a half-Kataline about her age; however, there was a gleam in his eyes that revealed that he was nothing like her. The reddened brander was shaking only slightly, as it neared her naked body._

_She looked over at her neighbor, a Zeltron girl who was being forced upon by five different males, most of which were human. She turned to the left, eyeing a strong man who was bleeding heavily; he had three viroblade handles sticking out of his chest._

_She shuddered, her eyes resting on a familiar Zabrak woman; she faced her tormentors bravely, but in the end, she couldn't stand it either. _

_The Kataline was grabbed by rough hands, causing her to look up at the young man; the brander was now only a centimeter away from her face. She could feel the heat; it bit at her tan skin, without a single touch. _

"_Look at me, beautiful." He purred. She looked up, her eyes full of hate and hurt. He just shook his head, his hand reaching down to caress her face._

_Without a thought of remorse, the brander was pressed to her bronze skin, and another scream was added unto the chorus of screams._

Ahsoka let out a harsh gasp, before falling to the floor again; she could believe how horrible those monsters were! How could people be sucked into following an organization so, so… insane and absolutely vicious!

She looked up at Rex, a single tear trickling down her sienna cheek. She gave him a weak, forced smile, before sniffling.

"No more, Rex." She got up, and headed towards the door. "I can't be in here anymore."

With that, she walked out. The clones, confused and a little disturbed, looked at each other, before following after her.

* * *

Ahsoka curled up on her bed in the hotel, her mind haunted with an eerie whisper of the Force. Her eyes were dry after an hour of crying; something about what she saw in the warehouse made her feel sick. The Kataline looked so young….

A small beeping noise sounded from beside her, causing her to grab for the holo-projector on the stand at the bedside. She answered it, expecting the comforting face of her master, only to see an unfamiliar, scarred face. A smirk was spread across his face, and Ahsoka knew something strange was up.

"_Hello, little Jedi. I must admit I'm surprised that the Jedi sent someone as inexperienced as you to chase me. I know you're after me, so I just wanted to make myself known. Here's my challenge: catch me if you can." _

Ahsoka gestured to her clone friends, before continuing with the scarred man.

"_That warehouse was such a beautiful sight, wasn't it?"_

Ahsoka's stomach churned, and she gave him a shake of the head. He laughed at her silence, before turning off the transmission. Ahsoka turned to her clones, before grabbing at her data-pad. She hacked again into the criminal data-base, her face going pale.

"What's wrong?"

Ahsoka turned to her clones. "We've become part of a deadly game of cat-and-mouse."

And they peered down at the data-pad.

* * *

By the way, Kataline are a species my younger sister made up; they are humanoid with the ears, tails, and claws of a cat. Other than that and special markings, they look like humans. Just thought I'd clear that up.


	7. Chapter 7

Ok, so I know people are reading this... It would be great if you'd review. Any questions, comments, criticisms, suggestions... I'd be happy to hear your opinion! I still need the new name for this fic... :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the clones and the 'scarred man'.

* * *

The scarred man seemed to be playing with them, they'd come to find out; he knew exactly how to tell them where he was going to be without actually telling them. He seemed to know all the resources they were using and how to tamper with them just enough to throw them off.

So they wandered the streets, following the little clues he left at a distance. They knew it was probably a trap, but at least they'd get closer to figuring what the hell was going on.

Ahsoka gazed up at the chapel they stood before; it was a magnificent structure seemingly untouched by the filth of the Underworld. It was one of the few buildings that had no sign of graffiti or any destruction. The building was made of bricks, probably built by hand, and there was a small sign above the doorway that read 'all are welcome'.

But that's not what got their attention; the silhouette of a hanging man was seen in the alley beside it. The small group approached slowly, assessing the damage from a distance.

The victim looked to be the priest, for he clung to a little black book like it was his lifeline. He was dressed very formally, with a golden cross around his neck.

His blood was drained in a small pool beneath his feet, while he hung from a heavy-duty chain.

Ahsoka searched his body, while the clones checked around. It seemed he had been dead for a while, for he was cold, and rigor mortis had been set in for at least three hours. Ahsoka carefully pried the black book from the man's arms, before flipping it open.

The pages were soaked with blood, except for one passage; it was completely untouched by the blood. Written over it, however, was a simple message; Marie Rue.

Ahsoka turned towards the clones, before putting the book back down by the priest.

She shook her head, before taking the body down, and neatening him up. She said a Togrutan prayer, before turning back to the boys.

"I need info on Marie Rue. I think, if I remember correctly, it's some sleazy gentlemen's club in Casanda, but I'm not quite sure."

Rex dutifully pulled out the data-pad, before punching in a few symbols, and turning away. Ahsoka, in turn, peered upward at the tops of the surrounding buildings, an eerie feeling tingling in her mind. If she didn't think herself paranoid, she'd say they were being watched. But as she scanned the perimeter, she saw nothing alarming.

Suddenly, her comm. beeped. Ahsoka looked down at her wrist, squeezing her eyes shut, before answering it.

_"Gods, Snips! I've been worried sick!"_ Anakin Skywalker said, a hint of worry in his voice. Ahsoka let out a sigh, before smiling.

"Hey Skyguy. How's meditative retreat been?"

_"Fine. And the Underworld?"_

Ahsoka let out a groan, before eyeing Rex, who gave her a shrug. He pointed to the data-pad, before gesturing for her to continue. "Well, let's just say we may be here a while."

_"Why do you say that?"_

"I don't know, just the fact that we seem to be involved in a galaxy-wide conspiracy involving a psycho murderer and some bounty hunters."

Ahsoka heard Obi-wan scolding Anakin in the background; Anakin let out a huff, before saying something rather obscene in Huttese.

_"Lucky! You get all the fun assignments."_ Anakin murmured, before sighing. _"Are you sure you don't need reinforcements?"_

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, before sighing. "As much as I'd like them, I don't think it's a good idea." She gazed at Rex. "Well, gotta go. Comm. you soon."

Without letting her master say goodbye, she turned off the comm., and walked over to Rex.

"To Casanda?"

He nodded. "To Casanda."

* * *

So they trudged, all the way back through Casanda, trying to find a presumptuous whore house named Marie Rue. According to Rex, it shouldn't have been that hard to find; but in an area full of cantinas and 'gentlemen's clubs', it was actually a bit of work.

It turns out it was so gaudy they missed it a few times; it was brick red, with a bright neon sign that blinded if looked at too long. Multiple customers sat outside, chatting amiably or enjoying their hired company.

Ahsoka blinked multiple times, her eyes burning from looking at the sign too long. She turned to Rex, who also blinked; he did a few hand gestures to the other clones, telling them to spread out and look around outside. Rex then led Ahsoka in.

If they thought the outside was bad, they were definitely taken aback; the inside was also brick red, with different paintings hanging from the wall; most of which were nudes of various species of women. Some of them looked quite familiar…...was that Aurra?

The stage was filled with strippers in various stages of undress as the sultry music wafted through the speakers in various areas of the room.

Ahsoka crinkled up her nose in disgust, as she looked around; nothing unusual…. She turned to Rex, who was looking down at the ground, as if to ignore the décor and entertainment the establishment was offering. Neither of them was quite comfortable in this sort of situation; but then again, who was?

They headed back outside, noticing that Torrent was chatting rather uncomfortably with a young Twi'lek woman. With a roll of the eyes, the two jogged over to the energetic clone, who looked up as they approached.

"Hey guys!" With that, he darted behind the two, before murmuring in a low voice. "I need help here; she says she's a Mrs. Secor…. I didn't think he was married."

Ahsoka raised a brow tattoo. "Me either."

She turned to the Twi'lek woman, who looked around nervously. She twiddled her thumbs before looking at Ahsoka.

"You are a Jedi, are you not?" She asked, her voice heavily accented. Ahsoka nodded slightly; the woman smiled, tears welling in her eyes. "I have been looking for my husband for over a month now. I thought the Jedi had forgotten."

She seemed to sincerely care for Secor, whether or not she was really his wife.

"We never forgot; we were just trying to figure out what was going on."

She nodded eagerly. "I knew that; the Jedi would never do that."

* * *

Mrs. Secor ended up tagging along; they tried to dissuade her, but she would not take 'no' for an answer. She wanted to find Secor, even though they told her of the different perils she was going to face.

It turns out she wasn't as much of a bother as the little group originally thought; she was a fairly quiet woman, keeping to herself most of the time. She did as she was asked, though, making their job just that much easier.

However, it seemed easy was truly not an option when you were the padawan of the Chosen One in the Underworld. Their challenger had stepped up his attacks, leaving more difficult clues, and more dead souls.

They were, again, led back to Marie Rue; only this time, there was someone waiting for them.

Ahsoka's eyes narrowed as she gazed at the hatted bounty hunter; the bounty hunter looked back at them, curious.

_"There a problem, young Jedi?"_

Ahsoka huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, do you consider a mass murderer a problem?"

The bounty hunter's eyes brightened slightly. _"No. Should I?"_

Ahsoka shook her head, before growling. "How did you know that the Blood Diamonds were active?"

_"It's the Underworld; word travels fast."_ He replied with an uncanny poker face, crossing his arms over his chest; he tapped his emerald fingers against his arms subtly. Ahsoka turned to her entourage, seeing that only Rex and Torrent stood there. She made a motion as if to ask where the rest were; Rex gestured to the alley closest to them.

Ahsoka turned back to the Kyuzoni hunter, before tapping at her lightsaber for reassurance. That small gesture did not go unnoticed by bounty hunter.

_"You are uncomfortable with my presence?"_ To that question there was no answer. Embo nodded slightly, before giving her a tip of the hat. _"I would be too."_

Ahsoka took a few steps back, into Rex, before turning in the opposite direction. "I think we should leave now."

Rex nodded in agreement, before gathering up the other five clones and the Twi'lek woman. They started in the opposite direction of Marie Rue; Mrs. Secor would periodically look back, murder in her eyes. The bounty hunter only grinned, making a 'silence' gesture.

Once out of the 'Marie Rue sector', Lireena (a.k.a. Mrs. Secor) growled, causing Ahsoka to stop, and turn to her.

"Let me go back there, and I swear I'll tear his head off!" Lireena screeched, grabbing at the blaster at her side. "No one sells my husband out to some whack-job without serious repercussions!"

* * *

Ahsoka and the clones looked at Lireena, eyes wide. "You're serious?"

Lireena growled. "Very." Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she sighed. "I guess I'm more to blame though."

Ahsoka raised a brow, and Lireena looked away. "It's hard to explain; just know that I made a few decisions I regret."

Ahsoka blinked as she was hit by a rather disturbing image; she looked at Lireena but said nothing. The Twi'lek woman had enough to worry about, so Ahsoka figured that mentioning that small escapade of hers was not the best thing to do.

She felt a slight tingle in the Force, causing her to turn towards an approaching figure. Lireena snarled, before charging at the figure, blaster drawn.

"You son of a bitch!" She growled, firing a few bolts off in Embo's direction. He just chuckled as all missed their target by a long run. Ahsoka unsheathed her lightsaber, before darting between the two people.

"Lireena, stand down!" She hissed before turning to the bounty hunter. "What do you want? Haven't you caused enough damage already?"

He cocked his head to the side, acting rather confused. _"Care to specify?"_

"Halire Secor; what did you end up doing to him?"

The bounty hunter stiffened, gazing down at the Togruta. _"What she saw was a conceptual misunderstanding."_

Ahsoka turned to Lireena, carefully turning her away. She turned back towards the bounty hunter, trying her hardest not to get angry. "Apparently whatever you were experiencing was different than what Mrs. Secor saw."

The bounty hunter shook his head, before chuckling slightly. _"She's not Mrs. Secor; she's just a whore."_

Lireena spat at his feet, before growling. "We were engaged."

With that, Lireena stomped off. Ahsoka watched her leave, before looking at the clones. Rex wandered over towards her, blasters drawn. He gestured for them to leave; apparently he was not the most comfortable person at the moment.

They started away, only to be stopped by Embo's voice.

_"You want a way into the gang? I'll show you where they're meeting next."_

* * *

The cell was cold, dark, and dank; the small cell was fitted with four blood stained walls and an unkempt floor, covered in every dirty substance imaginable. Its two inhabitants cowered in the corners, one still shocked on how her closest friend could do this to her, while the other was thinking of a special woman he loved.

The lights flipped on, revealing a frail-looking Zabrak woman and a scraggly-looking human male. They had often confided with each other in order to stay at least slightly sane, but not this day; they had brought in more 'punching bags', the youngest being a twelve year old Zeltron girl. They both mourned her innocence, and hoped she'd be one that lives.

The cell door swung open, and in walked a rather large Weequay man.

"Get up!" They did as they were told. The man gestured for them to follow him, and they were led to a large, open room. They were stripped of their clothes and sprayed with icy water. The water that ran beneath their feet was murky and dirty, suggesting that they lacked the proper hygiene when in the cell.

They were given cleaner shirts and shorts, before they were shoved into a smaller room. And in walked a large human male; his arms were tattooed to the max, the most prominent of which was a large black diamond with a bloody tip. His face was scarred, and cruelty was the only emotion he let show on his face.

He neared the Zabrak, grinning as he noticed the scarring diamond around her left eye. He traced the tender skin, causing her to growl slightly.

"That's coming out nicely, don't you think?" He asked, getting no response for her. He grabbed for the hypodermic needle on the table beside him, before ripping her head back harshly. He grabbed for the black ink, filling the needle with just enough, before sticking it into her face.

The room was filled with screams.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks all you readers! It's happy to know that someone is reading this... And a especially greatful thanks to the people who have reviewed!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the clones, Lireena, and anyone you don't recognize.

* * *

The little group had settled down for night back at the hotel; they were almost kicked out of the hotel when the owner saw their bounty hunter companion. He yelled and screamed about how he was a demon or something of that sort.

Ahsoka lay back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling; this entire gig was wearing her out. She'd need a long retreat when this was all done.

She looked out at her group, catching Rex's glance; he did not like how this gig was going, with the two outsiders bunking with them, and the sadistic murderer toying with them. She gestured for him to join her, and he did, reluctantly.

"Are you okay?"

He stole a quick glance at Lireena, who found a friend in Torrent, and Embo, who sat by his lonesome, playing with a lighter. "I'm a little nervous about our two tag-alongs; General Skywalker said not to get anyone from the Underworld involved."

Ahsoka grimaced; she had forgotten about that. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I trust your judgment, Commander." She grinned at this. "Although I do think we should ditch the bounty hunter."

Ahsoka gazed out at the bounty hunter, who got up, and left the room. She sighed, before agreeing. "Another one of my brilliant plans, huh?"

Rex gave her a friendly nod, before walking back over towards his brothers. Ahsoka lay back on her bed, before running through logistics; like the possibility of them living if and when they meet up with the murderer that has been playing with them.

Ahsoka paused for a moment, looking up as if to ask the bounty hunter a question; that was when she remembered that he had left. She sat up, causing Rex to glance at her; in return, she gave him a good-natured smile.

"I'll be right back." And she darted out of the room; although she knew it probably wasn't the best idea for her to go at it alone, for she'd be outgunned if something was wrong.

The hall was empty, surprisingly. With caution, Ahsoka headed down each level; nothing. Then, she started going up. It was on the roof that she found her suspect.

He seemed tense and angry, and he growled softly at something in front of him. _"I told you not to hurt her!"_

A garbled chuckle resounded from what sounded to be an outdated comm. _"I couldn't help myself, she's so pretty; I do think you will approve of her new look. You'll see her tomorrow when you come."_

With anger, he ended the communications; however, he still sat, rather stiff. Ahsoka ignored this, and turned, only to be stopped by a blunt object to the back. With a grunt, she fell to the ground; but in a split second, she jumped up, lightsaber and shoto unsheathed. She was greeted by nothing; the bounty hunter wasn't even in his spot.

She whipped around; nothing. The Force told her nothing about who attacked her or where he was. So the Force would tell her everything but that, which was not a very good thing. She sheathed her saber, letting her Togrutan hunting instincts kick in.

It was then she felt an arm tight around her neck, and a hand on her head; she promptly dropped her sabers, balling her fists to strike the perpetrator.

"_Do you know how easy it would be to break your neck right now?"_

Ahsoka struggled against the hold, only to have the hand turn her head towards an unnatural position. She heard a few subtle cracks in her neck as she tried to reach for her lightsaber….only to find it missing, along with her shoto.

She tried using the Force, but it wouldn't 'turn on' for her; it was as if she didn't have the Force to begin with.

"_Listen here; I'll let you go if no one knows about this conversation."_

Ahsoka shook her head, trying to pry the arms from around her neck. She was losing oxygen fast, but she was more concerned with the fact that her neck was about to be broken as if it were a twig.

She tried flailing, kicking, and resisting as much as she could, before feeling rather dizzy…things went rather blurry, and Ahsoka squeezed her eyes shut.

"Ok." She squeaked. "Not a word."

And he let her go. Ahsoka sucked in a deep breath, before whipping around in a defensive stance. She was alone.

* * *

Night passed quickly, and day broke just as fast; although Ahsoka didn't get much sleep. Rex awoke to find her curled up on her bed, moaning as she touched her neck; when he ask what was wrong, she said nothing. Although the dark circles under her eyes and the bruises on her neck said enough; she was attacked when out alone.

Rex cursed; he should've been there to protect her. He was such an idiot!

But he had to put that behind him, when he noticed that their bounty hunter guide gone; great, just what they needed….a backstabbing bounty hunter, a worried housewife/whore, and an energetic man-boy.

He got the clones all suited up before he could say 'holy Sith-spit', although it was harder to get both of the women to get ready. But it wasn't long until everyone was properly dressed and equipped, and they headed out the door….. only to find the bounty hunter waiting for them in the hall.

"_Gods, it takes you all so long to get ready."_

So they walked, through the busy streets of Teerimba; the group as a whole seemed rather antsy, all for different reasons, though. Ahsoka especially, so much so that Rex began to worry that she lost her sanity.

He pulled her aside after thirty minutes of pain-staking nervousness, giving her a stern look. "Commander, are you alright?"

She nodded, gazing past him at their bounty hunter guide. She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Rex raised a brow, causing Ahsoka to sigh. "You sure?"

With another sigh, her shoulders slumped, and she looked up slightly. "Rex, I think we're in trouble."

"What makes you say that?"

"Something happened last night…. I can't say exactly, but-." She was stopped by a blaster bolt that came ridiculously close to her face. The group rushed towards her from a few feet ahead, all but one looking quite concerned. She gave the bounty hunter a glare, receiving a small smirk in return. "What the hell was that?!"

"_It must've been a stray bolt from some fire-fight nearby."_

She clenched her fists in frustration, giving the bounty hunter a predatory snarl. He chuckled, and gave her smug look, as he crossed his arms over his chest. Ahsoka huffed, gestured for them to continue, and hung back from the rest of the group. Even then, she did not notice the Twi'lek woman slipping away from the group, into the Underworld crowd.

It took about an hour before anyone noticed that she was gone, so they had to backtrack over three and a half miles just to look for her. They spent the rest of the day looking for her, though they all knew deep inside she was not going to be found. And they were right; she was gone without a trace.

How could a rather recognizable woman disappear in just under an hour? Ahsoka, and everyone else concerned, had a rather grim theory, which seemed more and more likely with every passing hour; she was one of them, one of the taken.

* * *

Embo had led the little group halfway around the planet, it seemed, by the time night approached. He led them to a dock, where they sat and shared provisions.

Ahsoka sat by Rex, her mind tingled with warning; something wasn't right. But, for some reason, the Force wouldn't give her a direct feeling. She felt it everywhere.

She whipped around, her eye catching on a ship coming in to land. She gave the bounty hunter a snarl, as she shot up, and turned to him.

"What's going on?"

He didn't answer; he just looked down at the ground, nibbling on a ration. She ignited her lightsabers, and shoved them into his face; he jumped up, and flipped out of the way of her sabers. He gave her a rough curse, before looking up at the ship.

Ahsoka sheathed her lightsabers, looking on as the ship docked. The Force gave her a warning tingle, and she felt the need to run; something was going to go down, and it wasn't going to be a good thing. She grabbed at Rex's arm, before looking at him.

Rex looked at Ahsoka warily. "What's wrong, Commander?"

"I can't explain. We just need to go." She grabbed at his arm again, pulling at it. The other clones gave her all wary glances, before getting up.

Rex stood up also, before looking down at her, his eyes catching on her worried cerulean eyes; he knew that look. It was a Jedi look; one that the Commander and both General Skywalker and General Kenobi got when the Force was telling them of an impending attack.

He gave her nod, before turning. "Okay, if you say so Commander."

They only took a few steps away when they were stopped by a throaty voice; one that sent shivers up and down Ahsoka's spine. "Where do you think you're going?"

She whipped around, seeing a rather large entourage of people exiting the ship. The most prominent of which was a large human male; he looked like a living canvas, with arms and part of his torso covered with what looked to be layers upon layers of various tattoos. The most prominent was a large black diamond with a bloody tip that was placed precariously on his shoulder.

His ugly, scarred face was drawn up in a sneer as he looked out at the Jedi and her clones.

"Hello, young Jedi. I see you aren't as strong in the Force as I thought, or you would've sensed there was a rat among you." He smiled slightly, causing Ahsoka to turn to Embo, who still munched quietly on the ration. "I am glad, though; you will be most useful to me."

Before Ahsoka knew what hit her, an electrical device was pressed to the back of her neck, and she fell to the ground, paralyzed. The dock was filled with thuds as each of the seven clones fell, in the same state as their commander. The man gestured for some of his henchmen to pick them up, and make them kneel before him. He looked at Ahsoka in the eyes, before laughing.

"You lose, kid." Ahsoka just growled, her eye catching on the various people she recognized in the background; Lux, Halire, Lireena, Sugi, Chuchi, the Kataline girl…

With that, they were hefted up, and dragged back into the ship. The man turned to Embo, who stood up slowly, focused on two of the prisoners in the background; they both looked like hell, seeing as they were covered in bruises, burns, and sloppy tattoos.

The ringleader produced a large suitcase, before handing it to the bounty hunter. "Well done; I will enjoy these new additions."

Embo took it, before looking at his two companions. One looked back, her eyes full of hurt, and the other just didn't have enough energy to do so. He looked down at the credits, before looking at the prisoners.

"_What about our agreement?"_

The ringleader took a few steps backwards into his guards, before smiling. "Our agreement has just been terminated. I mean, why let two good things go when I still have plenty of use for them. You can have them back when they're no use to me; but there will not be any guarantee that they'll be any use to you when you get them. "

Embo looked at him, his blood beginning to boil. He clenched his fists, trying not to reach back at his bowcaster and shoot the living crap out of the guy. If he did, there would be no guarantee he'd last even a few minutes against that guy's entire group.

So he backed down, watching angrily as the backstabbing liar ushered the curious prisoners back into the ship, before the behemoth roared to life. And the ship took to the Coruscanti air again.

He opened up the suitcase, snarling as he picked up one of the credits from within; it was fake. He poured the entire suitcase out, watching as the fakes would snap or bend after hitting the ground from such meager heights. He looked up at the retreating ship; they had screwed with the wrong person.


	9. Chapter 9

Here's the next chapter, filled with strange alliances, old friends, and an incident of rape. Beware, young readers.

Disclaimer: All belongs to the big D.

BTW, did anyone go to see the Hobbit over the weekend? What did you think?

* * *

Anakin Skywalker paced around the Council room anxiously, causing all eyes to lock on him. Obi-wan gave his old padawan a sympathetic glance; he, too, would be going insane if his Padawan and Clone Captain hadn't had contact with them in a few days.

"Anakin, settle down!" Obi-wan huffed with a twinge of gentleness in his voice.

"I can't, Obi-wan. This horrible feeling is eating at my gut….. I think something might've gone wrong."

"Mmmm, sensed it too, I have." Yoda chimed in, a pained expression on his face. "In pain, Padawan Tano is."

At that, Anakin stepped up his pace, growling and cursing in Huttese. "Then why aren't we doing anything?"

Obi-wan shot up. "First of, we have no idea where she is. In that last conversation of ours she forgot to mention where she was, and what she encountered. Second, even if we did know where she was and what she was encountering, it might not be the best idea to rush in like that. We need information."

As if on cue, the main hologram projector beeped, causing the Council to turn to it curiously. Anakin rushed to it, answering it expecting Ahsoka, only to be quite disappointed. Seeing as it was a bounty hunter, Anakin went to turn it off; however, he was quickly stopped.

_"Don't you want some information on your padawan?"_

Anakin growled at him, leaning forward. The Council had mixed expressions on their faces, but knowing how Anakin was so passionate about this, they kept their mouths shut.

"You know where Ahsoka is?" The bounty hunter nodded. "Where?"

_"One of our mutual enemies has them. I cannot say exactly where he is over transmission."_

Ki-Adi Mundi's hologram leaned forward, brows raised. "And why should we believe you?"

_"You'd have to. This information will potentially save your Jedi's life."_

The Council murmured amongst itself, before turning back to the bounty hunter. Eeth Koth looked at the bounty hunter in skepticism. "He's going to kill her?"

_"Or torture, or rape her."_

The Council's murmurs and mutters become more passionate, until some where full out yelling at each other for opposing what they thought. The usually peaceful council erupted into confusion and turmoil, before Grand Master Yoda settled them all back down.

"How do we know you aren't going to turn?"

_"Let's just say I don't like this guy; he ripped me off, and this is revenge. I've got your information, and I'll be in Rekina."_

Anakin shut off the communicator, before turning to the council, a cheesy smile on his face. "Please?"

Anakin grinned, before turning to the grim Obi-wan; this was not usually a good omen, seeing as bounty hunters were less than friendly towards Jedi those days. This meant something was seriously wrong; it must've been the same strange disappearances, only this time, the kidnappers pissed off the wrong person.

There was a pause, and Mace Windu sighed. "Go ahead, just bring Obi-wan along."

As if on cue, the door burst open, revealing a petite Nautolan woman; a grin consumed her face as she notice Anakin and Obi-wan.

"I heard about the transmission." She huffed. "Actually, I'm sure the whole temple heard it. It was forwarded to everyone's holo-com."

The council gave her curious looks, and she gave them a sheepish smile. "What I'm trying to get at is that I would like to join Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker on their expedition. I mean, my most loyal trooper is stuck somewhere down there, and I figure that it'd be fair for me to go-."

Mace Windu waved her off, nodding slightly. She grinned, bowed slightly, and looked at her two companions.

"Let's go."

* * *

The ride to the Underworld was quiet and somewhat grim; who knows what mess the young Padawan and clones have gotten into; the Underworld was teeming with danger recently, as gangs and criminals piled in by the bucket full. The shining center of the Republic had also become a beacon of darkness.

They docked at the furthest dock from civilization, before walking the extra few miles to the beginning of a rather harmless sector Rekina; it was more of a lower class family area than a dangerous criminal hive. That didn't mean there wasn't any crime, it was just significantly less. However, if you veered to the left about two miles, you'd run into a nasty sector called Casanda. If you veered to the right about fifty miles, there was another nasty sector named Zofiti.

It was kind of ironic, how something could seem so innocent in the midst of danger and destruction. This was the part of Coruscant that interested Jedi Knight L'Li the most; she was sorta bound to Coruscant. She knew each and every level of Coruscant, reciting the main industry of each by heart; but it was this part of Coruscant that was the most fascinating.

With that, she looked over at Obi-wan, the man whom she had a crush on when she was just a youngling; but the war had changed both of them. There was no more time for childish crushes or conflicting ideology; everyone's mind was filled with war strategy and logistics.

"How long are we going to be sitting here?" The blue Nautolan woman groaned, before shaking her head; she was quite an impatient girl. Who she got that trait from was questionable, seeing as she had rather… interesting teachers.

Obi-wan checked his chrono, before sighing. "Not long."

L'Li just huffed, and reclined with her back on their speeder. "Ya really think that? 'Cause I know that there's nothing's more reliable than an angry bounty hunter. I bet he won't show."

Anakin sat a few feet from them, his eyes closed as he tried to connect with his Padawan through their bond. When he couldn't, sighed; they had cut her off from the Force somehow. He jumped up as he saw their informant approaching.

"Where's Ahsoka?" He growled, trudging up to the bounty hunter. He just shook his head, before walking past him towards Obi-wan and L'Li.

_"Ever heard of the Blood Diamonds gang?"_

Anakin paused and shook his head. Obi-wan shared the same expression of confusion as he looked upon L'Li. She paused for a moment, before nodding.

"Sure, some small-time bullies situated in the heart of Zofiti. Why?"

_"Small-time? Not so; they've grown."_ Embo huffed, before looking at the smaller being. _"And not just in Zofiti anymore. They've got the entire galaxy in hold, so much so that each and every person is involved somehow."_

L'Li pondered a moment, before gazing at the Jedi Master beside her with confusion on her face. "How could that be? The Jedi archives never suggested they were even close to being a threat."

_"Apparently they're smarter than whoever's updating those archives; who knows, they probably have a scout in your Temple."_ He paused, waiting for their reactions. When none came, he continued. _"They know your weaknesses and will use them against you."_

The three Jedi were silent, each silently praying for the lost Padawan and clones. Anakin looked up, sadness evident in his eyes. "Will he really kill them?"

_"If he sees fit. He'll probably keep the Togruta and dispose of the clones."_

"How do you know this?" Obi-wan asked, and the bounty hunter looked downward.

_"I was recently working with them."_

With a surprising rush of anger, Anakin looked up at the bounty hunter, before unsheathing his lightsaber. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off; his anger out-ruled all sensibility. He inched toward the bounty hunter, who was eerily calm.

"I bet you turned her in, didn't you?"

Ignoring that last statement, Embo looked down at him. _"Look kid, you kill me, and you won't find your Padawan in time."_

Anakin reluctantly sheathed his lightsaber, before turning to his old Master. Obi-wan gave him a stern glance, before turning to the bounty hunter.

"Where are they?"

_"They could be anywhere. These guys have bases all over the galaxy."_ He paused, looking around in the alleys behind them. _"I know where a few of their bigger bases are. I'll take you there."_

Anakin turned to Obi-wan, still seething. Obi-wan shrugged, before looking down at L'Li; she just smiled back up. With a sigh, Obi-wan nodded, and the hunt began.

* * *

Ahsoka yawned and stretched slightly, her hand brushing against a cold body. She jumped up, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room. She looked down at the person beside her, recognizing the blue skinned Pantoran easily; she was curled around herself, shivering insanely.

Ahsoka shook her slightly, earning a grunt and a cough in return. Chuchi stirred, and looked up at her friend.

"Ahsoka." She murmured hoarsely, before doing her best to sit up without reopening any wounds. Her gold eyes were bloodshot and dull, as she looked around. "Why are you here?"

Ahsoka shifted slightly, noticing a feline figure in the other corner. She got up, and explored the small room; her hand slid along the walls, trying to stir up images. But nothing would come. She turned Chuchi, who donned just a large shirt for covering.

"I was double-crossed." She came, and sat back down next to the senator. In the little light they had, she noticed that Chuchi's hair was tangled, her face was bruised, and she looked underweight and weak. Despite that, Chuchi cracked a smile.

"I wish I could give you a warm welcome, but you can't really do that in Hell." She murmured as she shivered once again. Ahsoka looked out as the feline figure shifted, and looked at them, her eyes glowing.

"Don't feel bad, kid; if they haven't touched you yet, they like you."

Ahsoka looked down at herself, noticing she still wore her Jedi attire; however, there were a few tracks in her arm where it looked like they had drugged her or something.

The Kataline girl sat up, her tail twitching from side to side. She turned towards the door, before cowering slightly.

"They're coming!"

The two curled up, feigning sleep, as the lights switched on. Ahsoka, confused, got up, holding a defensive stance as the door slid open. The canvas man walked in, his hands clutched behind his back as if he were Grievous; his smile was so large it looked as if he were the Cheshire Cat.

His eyes roamed her toned body perversely, as he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the cell. Ahsoka tried to fight back, but her lightsabers were gone and she couldn't connect with the Force somehow; all she got was an uncomfortable tingle in her arm.

He tossed her into a cold room; she took in her surrounds, terrified as she saw the blood stained floors. She didn't need the Force to know what happened in that room; and she knew that she was going to be next.

She tried fighting him as he descended upon her; she bit, clawed, punched, and kicked, but she seemed powerless against him. Whatever she did to him, he'd do back, harder.

It wasn't long before she was completely objected to his mercy; the cold floor was unwelcoming against her bare body, as well as his hands that wandered, enjoying the way she felt beneath him.

He leaned down, giving her a ravishing kiss upon her lips. She wanted to fight, or pull away, but she could not; he held her face still with strong hands, and allowed no movement. His hands slid down, playing her various feminine parts, taking pleasure in her screams and incessant writhing. He loved doing this; it was one of his greatest joys.

Hours passed before he got tired of her, and threw her back into the cell; she proceeded to curl up in the corner, a bloody, shivering mess. She felt so violated; she had heard of the monstrosities people committed, but she never expected to be a victim herself.

She cried for hours, mourning for not herself, but for everyone else who had to endure that. She thought of Skyguy, and Master Kenobi, and how they were taking her disappearance. She thought of Master Plo, and Barriss, and her tears fell harder.

Ahsoka didn't let her sadness drag on, however, or else the gang would be the winners; they would know she was broken.


	10. Chapter 10

I'm back after a relaxing Christmas... I got a sweet compound bow that I've been want for more than a year. That made my Christmas :). How was your respective holidays?

Disclaimer: I'm afraid I do not own anything.

* * *

Anakin gazed out the solar-shield and sighed; they had piled into a small Jedi ship called the _Corona_, before setting out for a space station close to Coruscant. A feeling picked at his stomach as he turned slightly to eye the bounty hunter behind him; Embo busily wiped down his weathered bowcaster, looking up every so often.

Anakin couldn't figure this bounty hunter; they had been forced to work together on Felucia, then he tried to kidnap the Chancellor with Cad Bane. He chased Anakin and Padme down, then worked with the Blood Diamonds, and now was helping them. He guessed it was all about the credits, though.

Anakin heard what he thought was the cocking of a blaster, causing him to whip around to face the bounty hunter. However, it was just the sound of the collapsing arms of the bounty hunter's bowcaster.

Embo gave him a strange glance, before setting the bowcaster down on the floor of the ship. _"A bit jumpy, are we?"_

Anakin gave him a glare. "I don't quite trust you."

The bounty hunter laughed slightly; however, he sighed and looked away. _"I wouldn't either."_

Anakin turned back towards the solar shield, his eye catching on a rather large space station. That was it, according to the bounty hunter. Anakin tapped at his lightsaber, subtle anger rising into his system; he was going to gut them if they had hurt Ahsoka.

Obi-wan, sensing his former padawan's anger, turned to him slightly, shaking his head. Anakin huffed, jumping up as the ship docked; he was the first out the door, darting through the base without a plan. Plans didn't matter to him, though; he just wanted to find his padawan and get her out of there. If he happened to free anyone else, that would be an added bonus.

At first, he thought that sector of the base was abandoned, seeing as no one was there. But the further Anakin went, the more he thought something wasn't right; there was not a soul in sight.

The three others followed behind, all as confused as he was. They searched the rooms, only finding debris and carcasses of long dead people.

Their thoughts of abandonment proved correct when they entered control room, and it was empty. They fanned out, covering the rest of the facility; they all returned when the entirety of the station was searched. Nothing.

Anakin, furious, turned to Embo, who clutched the edge of the consoles angrily. He unsheathed his lightsaber, charging at the bounty hunter. The bounty hunter ducked, sliding out of the way as the saber gashed his hat. He jumped up, kicking the lightsaber out of Anakin's hand.

"You lied!" Anakin snarled as he dove for his lightsaber, only to have the bounty hunter kick it further away.

_"Me, lied?! I have something in stake too! Your padawan was not the only one kidnapped!"_

Anakin stood up, growling; however, before he can charge, Obi-wan stepped in front of him. Anakin paused, the perturbed look on his old master's face telling him he went too far.

"Anakin, stand down!"

Anakin opened his mouth, as if to reply, but nothing came. He, instead, turned to a small blinking light on the dash. He pressed it, and the hologram of a tattooed human showed.

_"Hello, Jedi; I know you are looking for me, so I thought I'd introduce myself. I would be your competition. I know you must think I am just a petty criminal, but I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. I will warn you that if you continue looking for me, your beloved Jedi will die."_ Although this was a prerecorded message, it was if he knew where Embo was, for he turned to him. _"By the way, betrayal comes with a price. Don't expect to see your whore in one piece"_

With that, the message ended, leaving more than one angry and concerned.

* * *

By the time they had gotten the word back to Council, the Council also had bad news; they had been contacted by the Republic senate, which had just got a transmission from the gang. It seemed as though they were being set up with a hefty hostage demand of thirteen million; the war had already basically bankrupted the Republic, and now they had to pay hostage demands that high?

Chancellor Palpatine had reassured them that they would figure the money out, and the senators would be freed as soon as possible. However, the Council was worried they wouldn't have enough time.

_"We urge you to keep searching, if not for the sake of your Padawan, then for the sake of the Republic. As much as it'll hurt, it is better for a few to die then to have an entire population exterminated_." Mace Windu stated bluntly, getting curious looks from the Grand Master. _"And, unfortunately, the way things are going, I'm afraid they'll do just that."_

Anakin nodded, before his attention was ripped away from his feet to Master Fisto, who sighed quietly. _"A padawan was taken from the Temple yesterday. By the time any of us sensed anything, they were gone."_

The hologram of Shaak Ti bowed her head. _"They have seemingly outwitted everyone; rookies are disappearing by the roomful here on Kamino."_

Obi-wan stroked his beard thoughtfully, before looking down at the Nautolan woman. She drummed her fingers against her knee nervously, looking back every so often at the bounty hunter, who was on the comm. with other bounty hunters.

_"Halted, the war has. As though the Separatist were affected, it seems; lost a nephew, Dooku has."_ Yoda chimed in, getting wide-eyed glances from the three Jedi.

_"So where are you to?"_ Mace Windu asked, and Anakin turned back towards the bounty hunter.

"Well, the next base is by Naboo. We will report back when we finish with that base." With a respectful bow, Anakin turned off the comm. and turned towards the bounty hunter. "News from your end?"

Embo shrugged slightly, before leaning back in the seat. _"Not much. Cad Bane and the crew are keeping their eyes out for anything suspicious. Not sure how that's going to go."_ His voice faltered slightly, though, as he continued. _"A lot of my people have disappeared."_

L'Li sat up slightly. "What would anyone want with your people?"

He shrugged again. _"Brawns probably; maybe for body guards."_

And the _Corona_ went silent; this guy was both brilliant and psychotic. How anyone could weave their way through the Temple and over-grown forests of Phatrong without getting caught was a mystery; both had very high security, and did not usually sympathize with intruders.

Maybe he was the smartest man in the galaxy, quietly building a gang-ruled empire under the radars of the Republic. The Jedi were most concerned with the war, and he knew that; he knew that no one would believe the first few transmissions, so it gave him time to expand, while the Jedi were scratching their heads over what was going on.

He had basically won.

* * *

The arrived at the next base only a few hours later, everyone prepared for an all-out fire-fight. However, as they entered, it seemed as though this base, too, was empty. They came across no one as they trekked through the base, but this time, it was in the control room they found three people.

Those three people were quickly exterminated by a livid bounty hunter; the Jedi didn't even have to lift a finger before the entire base was secured.

Embo quickly seated himself in front of the holo-comm., should they get another transmission. It took a moment, but the little light blinked annoyingly. Hesitantly, he pressed the button, and the tattooed man appeared again, but he was not alone. He had six clones with him, all in ragged pants with bare, bruised torsos.

Noticing this, L'Li shoved the bounty hunter away, looking at the tattooed man in disbelief.

"Shocks!" She cried, grasping at the image as if to get closer to him. Shocks looked up, for this was not a prerecorded message, with sadness in his eyes.

_"I'm sorry."_ He looked at his brothers-in-arms, before gazing at the ringleader.

_"It seems as though you didn't listen to me. Dumb move, Jedi; and for that, I thought I'd reiterate the point that the more you look, the more people die."_ He looked up at the Nautolan woman, noticing her particular attachment for the clone commander, and grinned. _"Is this your favorite, babe?"_

He pulled out a blaster, and put three holes into his chest. Shocks' pained expression was forever frozen on his face as he fell, blood seeping from his heart. L'Li cried out in disbelief, before falling backwards, her resolve crashing to the ground. Tears brimmed in her round eyes, as she looked up at the two male Jedi; she buried her head in her hands, mourning for the loss of her beloved commander.

Anakin took her place, pushing the bounty hunter further away. "You don't need to do this."

_"Apparently I do."_ He dropped the blaster, before reaching for a viro-blade. It was so silent, they could practically hear the tearing of skin as he sliced Ricochet's throat. Blood splattered on the holo-comm.; it was not washed away, but it was left there to slowly trail down the screen.

Anakin jumped slightly as the dying clone fell on the comm., the image inducer failing as blood seeped into its inner mechanisms.

There was a pause of silence as Anakin waited for the ringleader to contact them again; in that time, he turned, catching the shaking figure of L'Li, who was muttering about how she failed Shocks. Obi-wan crouched beside her to comfort her, gesturing for Anakin to turn back to the comm.

The image sputtered back to life, just in time to witness the explosion of Flip; the room was sprayed with smoke and clone bits, which showered the remaining three clones.

Seth and Sting stood tall despite their impending death; however, Torrent was having a literal freak attack. So much so that a hefty-looking Weequay had to hold him down. Still, his teeth chattered like he was living in eternal cold, his left hand wrung the other; he murmured of George the spider, his brothers, and his favorite commanders. He was so afraid, that at one point, he started to pray.

The ringleader finished the other two off with a bloody decapitation and a chest full of laser bolts, before reaching the jumpy Torrent. He gestured for the Weequay to let go, before looking down at him.

_"Any last words?"_

Torrent, gathering all his courage, stood tall, before spitting at the ringleader's feet. _"You're just a bloody coward!"_

The ringleader smiled a bit, before pulling out a needle. _"I like you, kid; you're quite tenacious."_

He jabbed the injection into Torrent's arm, causing Torrent's eyes to roll back into his head, before falling.

The ringleader looked up, a psychotic grin forming on his face. _"Convinced yet? I warn you again; stop looking."_

And the transmission ended. Anakin looked back at L'Li, who was now sobbing. Obi-wan sighed, as the crying figure got up, and turned towards the bounty hunter.

"You know," She said between sobs. "This is your fault!"

Embo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. _"So I've heard."_

Anger took over her sadness as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "If you could get your information straight, we could've saved them! I bet you really don't know where they are."

Offended by her outburst, Embo stood up, towering over the five-foot-two Nautolan woman. He gazed down at her, his eyes glowing angrily. _"Listen, kid, as I have said before, they have many bases; they failed to tell me where the mother base is, so we have to look!"_

With that, L'Li stomped back to the ship, mumbling and grumbling.


	11. Chapter 11

I'm soory this took longer than normal. Busy...very Busy.

Just a slight warning, this chaper includes rape and gory stuff. And language.

Disclaimer: I do not own it.

* * *

As time passed, it seemed for many that the ship was getting smaller and smaller. With no rooms other than a tiny 'fresher, no one could get away from each other. L'Li was pressed up against one wall, as far away as possible from the reason of her anger. Anakin was on the edge of his seat, also as far away from the bounty hunter as possible; he still didn't trust him, and, at their current state of not finding anyone, the trust that he did have was dramatically decreased.

Embo was feeling rather depressed and lonely, as Obi-wan was the only one indifferent towards him. Everyone else hated him; not that he minded, though. It was completely normal to have Jedi hate him, it was just the fact that his sense of companionship had all but disappeared.

Bored, he pulled out a lighter, lighting it and extinguishing it in a rhythmic way. L'Li, annoyed by the clicking of the device, turned to him.

"Cut that out."

He looked at her, before looking back down at the lighter. He began flicking it again, causing her groan.

"I said, cut that out!"

He kept it up, making sure the click was extra annoying. On her wit's end, L'Li shot up, before grabbing that lighter, and yanking it away from the bounty hunter. He shot up, trying to pry the lighter from her Force-enhanced grasp.

Obi-wan groaned and rolled his eyes as he relayed controls over to Anakin; he stood up, giving the two arguing people an annoyed glance. He didn't have to speak a word, for they both knew what he was going to say. L'Li, blushing, gave the lighter back to the bounty hunter, who promptly put it away. They took their respective seats immediately, ignoring the other.

Anakin groaned; they had been like that for five hours straight. Sure, L'Li was angry about Shocks' death and all, but that didn't really excuse her actions.

"Now, L'Li," He began, giving the controls back to Obi-wan. He swiveled his seat to face her, only to have her look down at her feet. "Remember the Jedi Code?"

L'Li groaned, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sure I do. But I never really _learned_ it like you did; Halire told me the real meaning."

Anakin rolled his eyes, in turn. Halire was considered a 'radical' among Jedi, and how he was able to influence the young Jedi so much was interesting. Of course, the Council did give him a second chance, and a padawan to train…. Probably not a smart idea on their part, since L'Li was the end product; she was just as bad as Anakin was.

L'Li huffed, her head-tails swaying slightly as she shook her head. "There is no emotion, there is peace; did I get that right?"

Anakin cracked a smile, before turning back towards the solar-shield. However, L'Li continued.

"Stupid code; we'd be better without it."

Obi-wan whipped around, giving her a stern glance. She murmured a half-hearted 'sorry', before looking down at her feet.

Obi-wan turned back, tense; his former padawan was enough of a handful sometimes. Now he had a moody Knight, and an equally moody bounty hunter to deal with. The entire cockpit was clouded with the dark clouds of anger and depression.

The ship jerked out of hyperspace, and the small Jedi cruiser glided smoothly to dock on a small space station. Embo gazed out the solar-shield, murmuring something along the lines of 'home sweet home' as he locked with the green planet just below.

They entered the small station slowly, and were surprised to see resistance; blasters fired in the direction of the opening door, but they were quickly taken down by three expert Jedi and a warrior/hunter on his last nerve.

The halls quickly filled with more guards, brandishing a menagerie of weapons, from DC-17 blaster pistols, to snipers rifles, to missile launchers. The fight was quick and unworthy to be mentioned, as guards fell like flies in every direction; they were not heavily armored, nor were they smart to any degree.

It wasn't long until they got to a four-way intersection; they branched off, taking their own routes, all hoping that this was their lucky run.

The base was 'secured' in less than thirty minutes; all of the guards had been exterminated efficiently, without hassle. Embo and Anakin kept watch in the control room, waiting for transmissions or reinforcements, while Obi-wan and L'Li headed down towards the prison block.

The prison area was found easily enough, however, to their surprise, all the cells were void of anything living; sure, there were some dead things in there, but they had been dead for quite some time now. Confused, L'Li paused, her mind probing for any other life-forms on the ship. She caught a few, but was disappointed to find out it was Anakin, her 'favorite' bounty hunter, and the few guards that were slowly dying.

L'Li stormed up to the control room, with a quiet and contemplative Obi-wan following her. She stomped over to Embo, who was unprepared for the Force-backed slap she gave him; in reaction, he jumped up, grabbed her arm, and twisted it behind her back until she screamed in pain.

With a lapse of remembrance, he let go, shoving her lightly away from him; however, that didn't sit well with her. She jumped up, roundhouse kicking him in the jaw; he returned the strike with a fist to the gut, which connected with enough force to send her back into Obi-wan.

Obi-wan grabbed L'Li's arms to hold her back, as she snarled and thrashed like a rabid animal; the bounty hunter gave her an equal snarl, before taking his original seat in one of the cushioned swivel chairs in the room.

Ignoring L'Li's vicious rants, Embo looked down at the transmitter, his stomach dropping a notch when he saw the light blinking. With a swift, mindless move, the screen lit up, and his worst fears were confirmed; his young Zabrak companion stood before the screen, hollow and zombie-like. She looked worn out, swaying as if she didn't have enough energy to stand.

Her face was marred; her face was red and swollen around the newest tattoo she had. Apparently, whatever type of ink they were using didn't agree with her skin. Not only that, but bruises, scars, and cuts accompanied that, making her almost unrecognizable.

Noticing that the device was on, she glanced up slightly, reanimating as she saw her former companion. She began chattering quickly in a language that none of the Jedi knew; however, it seemed as though the bounty hunter understood fine.

Anakin blinked as the two conversed, wondering how any living person could talk so fast. They quickly changed languages, still comfortably conversing while the others scratched their heads in confusion.

Obi-wan looked away, his eye catching on a large screen that also seemed to be playing the transmission; he gestured to the two other Jedi, drawing them over to the other screen as the bounty hunter was hogging the original one.

However, the seemingly energetic demeanor of the Zabraki huntress changed when the door flew open, revealing a livid ringleader. She dove for cover, only to be caught by the wrist, and yanked up. She protested with newfound energy, kicking and yelling; however, that only got her a back-hand to the already bruised and tender face. He repeated that at least five times, before yanking her up by her hair to face the transmitter.

_"Hello again, old friend."_ The ringleader growled, pulling harder on her hair as she squeaked a protest. _"Shut up, bitch!"_

_"Make me."_ She spat, her voice hoarse from overuse. Furious, the ringleader grabbed her chin, and started yanking it in an unnatural direction as if to try to dislocate her jaw. She clawed at his face, piercing the skin on more than a few occasions. Embo shouted obscenities in protest, but it was as if they couldn't hear him in the first place.

_"Crafty little thing."_ The ringleader murmured as he tossed her to the ground. He gave Embo, and subsequently the Jedi, a livid look. He turned to look down at her, before giving her a rough kick to the gut. _"I let her out of her cell to clean up, and she takes off. Ungrateful little whore."_

She stood up, shaking from exhaustion; her short burst of energy had all but worn out. _"The only whore around here is you, bastard."_

And that set him off; his hands shot out, grasping around her throat tightly. He dropped her only a few moments later, before ripping out his blaster pistol, and firing it off in her general direction; she dodged with all the grace of an overweight Hutt, but she succeeded, as none connected with her.

A loud crash drew them both away from the transmitter, and the leader darted off. Sugi took the time to catch her breath, and looked up at the transmitter.

_"You've got to help me."_ Her voice faltered, as she looked towards the exit. _"He is going to kill me, I can tell."_

Embo nodded, but that was the only reaction he could give her, before he was pulled away from the transmitter; Obi-wan took his place for a brief moment, causing the woman to give him a curious look.

_"Kenobi? What are you-?"_

"Long story. Where are you?" He asked, receiving a shrug for his answer.

_"I do not know."_ She looked away, gasping as the door swung open. The tattooed ringleader stomped back in, looking a bit more than furious. He grabbed her by the wrist, before smashing her up against the wall furthest from the transmitter; because of the way the transmitter was situated, they could only see from the knee down of the ringleader.

The sound of something against metal rang throughout the room, as well as dazed cries of pain. However, the most disturbing thing was when what looked like a large t-shirt fell to the floor, as well as the pants the ringleader was wearing.

L'Li stared at the screen in horror as screams of pain filled the room; she was no stranger to crime, but 'witnessing' it was something totally different. She turned to Anakin, who looked quite disturbed, and then to Obi-wan, who looked horrified.

She looked back at the bounty hunter, who was tensely hunched over the comm., growling quietly; fury clouded his aura, and the entire room, drowning out whatever cloud of hope there was.

She turned back to the large screen, only to wish she didn't; apparently the ringleader had moved, in order to flaunt his deeds. Now she could see a lot more than just the knees.

She closed her eyes, and waited, for at least a good hour; when there was nothing but silence, she opened her eyes. The poor Zabrak woman lay crumpled on the floor, while the ringleader conversed with one of his cronies; he seemed quite perturbed that he was interrupted.

He turned back to the screen, a grin forming on his face. _"I bet you wish you were me right now."_

Embo shot up, growling even angrier_. "I would never want to be like you. You're a fuckin' monster."_

The ringleader's smile turned quickly to a frown, as he yanked Sugi up from the ground. _"But you are already like me; don't think I haven't heard about you. I'm the monster? I've heard you've done much more to her than I have."_

_"Liar."_ Both Embo and Sugi called out in unison. The ringleader grabbed at her hair again, silencing her protest; he looked up at Embo again.

_"You blatantly call me out for something that is quite true. You both know this; the Jedi all know this."_

Embo looked down at the comm., before gazing at the Jedi. He shook slightly, before sighing; however, he did not answer. The ringleader's smile reappeared, and he bent down to place a teasing kiss on the top of the huntress's head.

_"It must hurt to see someone else playing with your toy."_ The ringleader said, earning a string of obscenity in return. He laughed, tilting her head back enough for him to kiss her fiercely. When she didn't respond, he looked down at her for an explanation. With murder in her eyes, she looked up.

_"I'm not anyone's 'toy', especially not yours!"_ She grinned slightly as she noticed her captor's angry face; she was in the midst of a deadly gambit, but she would rather die than let him take advantage of her again. _"I'm sorry, but you can go fuck with another girl."_

The ringleader's face fell to a scowl as he realized what she meant; she was directly disobeying him, and he couldn't have that. He turned to the table beside him, reaching for a large knife; he drew it up, and looked at it with a crazed look in his eyes.

_"If that's how you are going to act, then I will gladly teach you what it is like to disobey me."_ He grabbed her left wrist, despite the fact that she kicked and fought as hard as she could. He spread her fingers out on the cart that used to hold the knife, and slowly began slicing the skin of her fingers. She gritted her teeth, determined not to get too emotional over a simple cut.

However, she began to whimper as the pressure increased; and with one swift motion, her fingers were dismembered from her hand. Bloody screams of pain rattled around in the room, causing the ringleader's face to erupt into a Cheshire Cat grin.

_"Not in one piece." _He murmured, earning a moan of pain; the Jedi recoiled at this, more than one's stomach churning. The table where he operated was saturated with blood, but he didn't seem to notice, as he leaned against it with no chagrin.

_"What the hell do you hope to accomplish by doing this?" _Embo hissed hurriedly. The ringleader paused, before looking up.

_"I want to cause you pain in every way possible."_ And he went for her wrist, cleanly severing it with one powerful swing.

_"Then why don't you tell me where you are so you can cause me all the pain you want?!"_

The ringleader just grinned as he began to slice the skin at her elbow, laughing at her tears. _"Because, this is a lot more fun."_

And everything below her elbow was gone. Her tears became thicker and more frequent, as she grabbed at the knife with her right arm; it was as if she were trying to convince him to just stab it through her heart and get it over with. But that was not his plan.

_"Be this a lesson to both of you; do not disparage my orders."_

With one more clean swipe, she was void of her left arm. She cried out in pain, fighting the urge to vomit as the transmission phased out.

Embo hit the now blank transmitter furiously, trying to rekindle the image. When minutes passed and nothing happened, he yelled, and smashed the transmitter to oblivion. He gazed at the shocked Jedi angrily, before darting off, presumably towards the ship.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello. I'm back with another chapter.

Ugh, anyone else have exams tomorrow?

* * *

Ahsoka hurt more than she ever had in her entire life; not just physically, but mentally too. She missed her master terribly, and longed for the warmth of the Jedi Temple. She shivered, the cold air in the cell biting hard at her bare legs and arms. Although she had been stripped of her Jedi garb, they weren't as bad as she thought, for they gave her a long shirt to cover her body.

She had used up most of her energy by crying; her formerly virgin body burned in places it shouldn't have. Her body was frail, and weak; she spent a lot of the time vomiting in the corner where the pseudo 'fresher was. She felt horrible, dirty, and tired.

Ahsoka had found a little comfort in Chuchi and the Kataline girl, whose name was found out to be Kiti. They conversed often, so much so that they knew almost everything about each other.

Ahsoka also had contact with Rex and Lux, as the prisoners were let out to eat once a day. The two boys looked worse for wear, but they had seemingly found friends in each other; this was despite the fact that both seemed quite interested and protective of Ahsoka; she sat with them rather uncomfortably. Because it took her a while to shake off the dirty feeling that sat on her shoulders, she didn't talk much. She thought that because of what was done to her, the boys would no longer be her friends, or they too would want to hurt her.

Little by little, her trust in them built, but was torn down by the various times she was forced upon. She was confused and hurt. She was given support from Sugi, who knew what she was going through; it seemed that they were more similar than Ahsoka had thought.

She would eat lunch quietly, barely conversing; it worried Rex, but he did not say a thing. He knew she had gone through tough times, and needed some time to recoup.

And then they were ushered back into their cells, where they sat until they were needed.

Ahsoka often sat by the cell door, peering between the bars at the outside world. She watched as people were led around, many returning dead or severely bloodied. She was curious as to where they went, and why everyone returned in less than one piece.

It wasn't until one day at their daily meal did she find out. She was sitting with Rex and Lux, when she was approached the one-armed huntress. She took a seat beside the young Togruta, ignoring the subtle glances that were cast at her bandaged stub. However, when you've got six people looking at you at once, it's hard to ignore the fact that you're the object of interest.

"What?" She hissed, and the clones that sat at the table looked away. Ahsoka, however, gave her a serious glance.

"What really happened?" Her voice was quiet and meek; Sugi put her right hand on Ahsoka's shoulder, an encouraging smile playing on her face.

She looked around, making sure none of the guards where in hearing distance. "It was no accident, I can tell you that. He let me out of my cell to clean up, which I did; however, he apparently brought me out for more than a shower, so I ran."

Sugi looked up at one of the guards, silent as he walked by. When he was out of range, she began again. "I found a room, with a comm., so I started it up. I contacted Embo; only then did **he** walk in. We tussled for a while, and he, um, raped me." She muttered, her voice faltering. "After a few moments of talking and taunting, he tried to kiss me, but I told him to - pardon my language- fuck off. That's when this happened."

She gestured to her armless side, shivering slightly. "It was horrible. And he did almost the same thing to the clones that you two were travelling with."

Ahsoka and Rex sat forward, anger evident in their eyes and dispositions. Rex shot around, gazing at the ringleader in the far end of the room. "Why that son of a bitch!"

Ahsoka did a double-take, blinking at Rex's foul language. However, she could not blame him. She turned back towards the bounty hunter. "Why?"

"To frighten your master; he thinks that if he kills people, than your master will stop looking for you." She took a short break to inhale the meager rations they got, rubbing her irritated eye angrily. "You're one of **his** favorites."

With that, she got up, grasping the tray carefully, before walking over to the kitchen. She dropped off her tray, before walking over towards the ringleader, who had gestured for her to join him.

Ahsoka put a hand on her seething clone captain's knee, trying to dissuade him from attacking that 'son of a bitch' and getting himself killed. Rex's face immediately reddened however, as he carefully moved her hand back onto her own lap.

Ahsoka was about to protest, but the buzzer sounded, and everyone was forced back into their cells.

* * *

Ahsoka sat at her favorite spot, shaking her head weakly as she refereed the argument between Kiti and Chuchi. It turned out Kiti was a big smoker, despite the fact that she was sixteen (sixteen and a half as she would often correct Ahsoka). Chuchi found this quite offensive, and protested every time one of the guards smuggled a cigarette to the Kataline.

Now, Chuchi had her back to the Kataline, ignoring the fact that Kiti was purposefully taunting the Pantoran by blowing her cig smoke at her. Ahsoka found it quite amusing that they both had time to argue about something so mundane while in the midst of a horrible affair.

She turned to look out of the cell, just as they dragged a fighting young man by the door. Ahsoka gazed at the boy, her eyes widening when she recognized who it was.

"LUX!" She shot up, trying to reach for one of his hands as they went by. He looked up at her, also reaching for her hand in panic. They were leading him to '**that** room', where they were supposedly tormenting her master. She pressed herself as hard as she could against the bars, as if her meager strength could bend the iron rods.

She tried using the Force to bring him back, but all she got was a painful shock in the arm, and a whole lot of nothing. She gazed down at her arm, damning the Force-suppressing chip with everything in her.

She looked out the cell bars again, seeing that he had disappeared; so she waited, for three hours, before Lux was dragged out, bloody and lifeless. His arm had been severed at the elbow, and his leg had been dismembered at the knee.

Ahsoka cried out, cursing 'that son of a bitch' to his rightful home in hell and back as he passed by; his only reaction was a smile.

Ahsoka curled up in a ball, and cried.

* * *

Ahsoka met again with Rex the next day, her eyes red and puffy from hours of mourning one of her best friends. Rex gave her a curious glance, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

Ahsoka shuddered slightly, tears threatening to resurface. "They killed Lux."

Rex gave her a curious glance, shaking his head as if to contradict what she had seen. It was Ahsoka's turn to be confused, as she gave him a raised brow-tattoo. "Killed him? He was pretty beat-up, but he's still alive."

Ahsoka blinked. "I'm pretty sure he was dead when they brought him by."

Rex shook his head, as he gestured to the other end of the room, where Lux entered; he looked like crap, but at least he had what looked to be a few high-quality prosthetics to replace his missing leg and arm. Although he didn't look steady on the fake leg, at least he had it.

Ahsoka's jaw dropped, as she saw the presumably dead Torrent and Shocks enter with the newly armed Sugi in tow. She shot up, and darted over to the kitchen, where Lux stood as he waited for his meal.

"Lux, I thought you were dead." Lux turned mechanically, his eyes glazed over. He nodded slightly, before gazing down at the prosthetic.

"I thought I was dead, too." He murmured, before looking down at his food. "**He **has been very gracious to me and my colleagues."

Ahsoka backed up slightly, eyeing Lux with an incredulous glance. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." He grabbed his tray, before moving over towards an unoccupied table. "He has spared my life for a specific purpose, and I am grateful."

He was about to reveal what he was spared for, but he was interrupted by a just as possessed-looking Sugi, who yanked him up by his ear with her mechanical prosthetic. He let out a cry of pain as she dragged him off.

Ahsoka just sat there, before shaking her head and walking over towards Rex. He gave the small group a wary glance, before turning back towards his food. He ate it quietly, before looking up at his commander. Ahsoka gave him a curious glance, before turning back towards her food.

"They brought cases of some sort of drug in last night." Rex whispered, as he stole a glance at the small group in the far corner. "They injected them with it. It's like they don't have a mind of their own anymore."

Ahsoka huffed, her eyes widening. "What did the drug look like?"

"Electric blue. It glowed beneath the skin when injected."

Ahsoka buried her head in her hands, shaking her head. "Sounds like Rajiki, that rare drug that was recalled by Coruscanti pharmacists for its interesting side-effects, such as loss of limbs and 'brainwashing'."

Rex groaned, before hitting his head against the face of the table. The clones siting with them gave him disturbed glances before grabbing their trays and moving elsewhere. Rex sighed. "That's what I thought."

Ahsoka looked over at the little group again. "What does he want with them?"

Rex gazed out at the zombie-like group, as they mechanically ate their food in silence. He gave her a weary look. "I do not know."

* * *

The _Corona_ felt cold; the temperature did not physically change, but everyone within the ship felt an unnatural chill up their spines. Everyone was silent, not even exchanging a sound, as they silently mourned or prayed.

L'Li turned slightly, seeing that the bounty hunter that sat beside her was gone. She got up, moving towards the small 'fresher in the back of the ship. Before she could even knock, there was a huff.

_"Go away."_ The voice sounded almost drunken, L'Li mused, as there was a muted sigh. There was a curse, and the sound of someone shifting, as the refresher door slid open. Before she could even say anything, she was pushed out of the way; being stubborn and quite offended, she stomped after him.

"Ya know, for once I was just trying to be nice."

Embo shot around, anger burning in his eyes. _"Save it. I really don't care."_

L'Li just gave him an unladylike snort, and a rude gesture, before sauntering back over towards her seat. She pulled out her lightsaber, a pained smile crossing her face as she ran her fingers over her old padawan braid that dangled from the end. Like most of the hairless Jedi, her padawan braid consisted of metal beads and wire; however, at the end of hers was three small beads that no other Jedi had.

Her favorite was a small phoenix charm that Shocks himself had carved out of old wood; tiny calligraphy letters read 'united we stand, together we fall'. With a choked sigh, she put her lightsaber away, gazing out the solar shield.

A funny feeling picked at her heart, telling her that despite what she saw, Shocks was still alive somewhere. However, the feeling came and disappeared like weather; perhaps he was barely alive, clinging to life while diving into the darkness bit by bit.

She turned to her fellow Jedi, feeling the anxiety from the Chosen One strongly; strangely, it didn't seem to be only directed towards his padawan. Obi-wan, however, mourned everyone lost, but tried to keep himself as emotionally detached as possible.

She turned lastly towards the bounty hunter, who had joined them at last; he was an emotional hurricane, his emotions swirling and strengthening every time he took a sip from his flask. However, unlike hurricanes, there was no 'eye' in sight; anger, guilt, and sadness filled the storm, leaving no room for a break of tranquility and peace.

L'Li groaned, her head pounding; there was too much bad mojo in the cockpit. It was messing with her 'Jedi-ness' way too much; she needed a break.

It seemed as the peace gods heard her plea, as there was a small beep on the dash. Groaning, Anakin turned back.

"I guess it's time for a pit stop."


	13. Chapter 13

Hey. This story only has a few more chapters to go before the story is done.

Disclaimer; I don't even want to say it any more. I'm sure everyone knows I do not own Star Wars.

* * *

The _Corona _came to dock on a small moon; there was said to be a fairly quick and inexpensive refueling station located there. The owner of the refueling station jumped at the sight of the ship, for it had been the first ship he had seen in quite a while; he rushed over, quickly filling the ship with the hopes of some sort of payment.

Anakin huffed, looking out of the solar-shield impatiently; this was quicker than normal, but everything felt like forever when his padawan's life was at stake. Anakin turned to Obi-wan, who got up, and headed outside to pay the station owner. However, even Obi-wan didn't notice their bounty hunter informant slipping out of the ship, and disappearing into the darkness.

Twenty hundred credits later, and the ship was completely fueled and ready to take off.

"Two thousand credits? How is that inexpensive?" Anakin huffed as Obi-wan returned. Obi-wan gave his padawan a shrug, before returning to his seat.

"He has to make a living out here on this deserted rock." L'Li chimed in, interrupting Obi-wan. Obi-wan turned to the Nautolan woman, who gave him a grin. However, Obi-wan looked over at the empty seat beside her with a look of annoyance.

L'Li turned to the empty seat also, groaning. "Who would've guessed; looks like our 'friend' disappeared."

Anakin whipped around; great, just what they needed, another delay. He shot up, but was stopped by Obi-wan.

"I think L'Li should take care of it."

L'Li gave the Jedi Master an incredulous glance. "Are you serious? Why me?"

"Just do it." He murmured in 'the tone' that he always used when he got annoyed. L'Li sighed, and rolled her eyes, before snatching up her lightsaber.

"Are you sure the Chosen One can't handle this?"

Obi-wan gave her 'the look' again; she threw up her hands in defeat, before walking off. She walked around the entire refueling station, mumbling under her breath about lazy Jedi and hormonal bounty hunters.

"You know what?" She murmured to herself. "He probably just jumped off the side of this infernal station and killed himself."

_"I thought about it."_ A voice behind her said. She whipped around, eyeing a figure perched on the building above her. _"I also thought about jumping ship and going back to Coruscant."_

He jumped down, landing beside her quietly. He stood up to his full height, looking out at the crevices and crags a few miles yonder. _"Killing myself wouldn't be fun at all. And jumping ship would leave me on this abandoned rock for God knows how long."_

"What are you doing out here, then?"

He blinked slightly, before looking down at her. _"I needed to think; I was actually leaning on jumping ship, but I can't let Cad Bane get too far ahead with his bounty tallies."_

L'Li just shook her head. "Is that what life's all about to you, bounty tallies and credits?"

Embo chuckled slightly, before shaking his head in turn. _"That's what you Jedi think, but it's not. Life as a bounty hunter is about the freedom to do and feel what we please. Nothing holds us down; not an old, outdated code, not rules."_

L'Li listened carefully; for some reason, this lifestyle seemed so much more appealing than the Jedi lifestyle. She chided herself for thinking like that; she had been taught for as long as she could remember that bounty hunters were bad people. But now she was working with one, she had a different perspective; sure, they were as bad as she heard, but they were not soulless. They were sentient too.

She looked up slightly, emitting a chuckle. "So the bounty tallies and the credits are just benefits of hunting?"

_"Good benefits, yes."_

L'Li paused; would she make it as something other than what she had been raised as? After all, Aurra Sing used to be a Jedi…..

The rumbling of a ship interrupted their conversation; they looked up, seeing the _Corona_ hovering over them with the cargo bay door opened wide.

"Come on, you two!" Anakin shouted from his perch in the ship. "Time's a tickin'."

With shake of the head, the two jumped up, and the ship took flight again.

* * *

Anakin turned to his old master, curious; usually he would be reprimanding Anakin for something he did wrong, or adding a witty statement to the bland conversation. But he was oddly silent, watching out the solar-shield with weary eyes.

"Master, are you ok?"

Obi-wan turned to his former padawan, a small smile gracing his lips. "Oh yes, I am fine."

Anakin just shook his head; he knew Obi-wan better than that. He looked back at the two behind them, as they conversed quietly about gods know what. "Are you sure? Don't lie, Obi-wan; I know you better than this."

Obi-wan just shook his head, chuckling slightly. "I'm just thinking."

Anakin rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's a hell lot of thinking."

Obi-wan shook his head with a smile fully on his face. "Unlike you, my padawan, I like thinking through things. Like what we are going to do with that monster when we find him."

_"I can tell you what I'm going to do."_ Embo chimed in. _"I'm going to tear him limb from limb; I will then proceed to kill him as slowly as possible to make him suffer."_

Obi-wan wrinkled his face up at the bounty hunter's bloody fantasies. "I do not think answering murder with murder is the right thing."

_"That's what all Jedi say. You have to look at it from a normal person's point of view."_

"Normal?" Anakin choked out, a little chuckle escaping his lips. "I think you're the farthest thing from normal as anyone could get."

_"Is this based on my species or my profession?"_ Embo replied, his tone darkening just a bit. Anakin shrugged.

"I was meaning your profession, but now that you mention it…."

Embo let out a low growl, and Anakin promptly shut up; there were only a few people he would never tangle with when they were angry, and he was one; the fact that he was a bounty hunter and a Kyuzo attributed to that thought. Both of those things had anger management problems in their list of specifications; the fact that he hadn't murdered any of them yet was shocking, at least to Anakin.

Anakin turned back to the controls, his eyes darting over the different dials and buttons; their comm. had been hailed, strangely enough. He answered, and his eyes went wider than Jabba the Hutt's waistline; the bastard that killed Lux, Sugi, and the clones, looked up at Anakin. A smile graced the murderer's face as another trooper was dragged in.

He was rather healthy looking, other than the fact that he looked undernourished. He had not a single bruise or cut visible, unlike the others. The ringleader gave the Jedi a grin.

_"Hello again, Jedi. I see you are still on the hunt; I don't see why you Jedi don't get the fact that if you stop looking, the galaxy will be better off. But, since you are too thick-skulled, I figure that you won't care if I kill everyone in here; but why ruin with fun by doing it all at once. I think I will start with the most famous clone captain of the GAR."_

With that, Rex looked up, catching his general's glance. The ringleader threw a strong strike to Rex's gut; there was a sickening crack and a cough, before the clone captain righted himself, and assumed defensive position. Another strike connected with Rex's throat, causing him to hack and wheeze as he tried to suck in precious oxygen; this only distracted the clone captain as he receive a fist to the face and a knee to the crotch.

Rex's face distorted into silent pain as he endured the strikes; but that would not satisfy the ringleader. The monster grabbed at the viroblade at his side, unsheathed it, and dug it into the clone captain's stomach. Rex let out a gasp as he looked down, his white shirt quickly soaking in blood.

He stumbled, pressing his hand to his wound as he looked up. The viroblade penetrated his side multiple times, before he gathered up enough breath to speak.

_"It was an honor serving with you, General Skywalker and General Kenobi."_ He turned, launched himself at the ringleader, knocking the blade out of his hand. The ringleader struggled underneath the clone captain, getting just enough of an edge to grab at one the wounds at Rex's side, and tear it open.

Rex howled, looking down at his now exposed ribs. Before Anakin could utter a word, however, the transmission phased out. He whipped around, murder in his eyes.

"Where's the next base?!"

_"Far in the Outer Rim. Give me the controls and I can get you there quickly."_

Anakin gladly got up, letting the bounty hunter at the controls. Anakin took Embo's spot behind, seething; while he was quite angry at the fact that one of his best friend and clone captain was now gone, he was afraid that his padawan would be next. He knew that if that happened, he would go off the deep end; it would take a lot for even Padme to change him.

He bowed his head, clasped his hands together, and prayed for the first time in a long while.

* * *

L'Li groaned as she spun in the chair in the _Corona_ for the fifty hundredth time; the bounty hunter had seemingly led them around the galaxy at least twice. She looked at the bounty hunter, who was hunched over the controls, diligently making sure the ship did not go even a centimeter off course.

"Are we there yet?"

Embo turned in his seat, eyeing the young Jedi incredulously. _"The ship's still moving."_

L'Li murmured negatively, before the bounty hunter gave her a huff and turned back to his business. She looked at the other two Jedi, who were quite busy with watching the light show of hyperspace.

"Ugh, you guys are so incredibly boring!"

Obi-wan turned, a grin spreading on his face. "You just noticed that?"

The Nautolan Jedi huffed. "Well, I was kinda busy to notice." She turned to Anakin, frowning. "I heard travelling with the Chosen One was supposed to be entertaining."

Anakin turned to her slightly, the look on his face silencing her; his eyes were filled with pain, as he played with his hands. L'Li cringed as she was hit by a feeling; the Force cried out with the eerie song of the dead, causing her breath to hitch. She turned to Obi-wan, who sat forward in his seat, shifting uncomfortably; they had to be close.

As if on cue, the ship jerked violently out of hyperspace, and L'Li gasped; the entire solar shield was filled with the enormity of a space station just thirty seconds away. Embo got up, leaving the controls to Obi-wan. He grabbed at his bowcaster, before looking at the Jedi.

_"Dock the ship, Negotiator."_ He turned to the two others, who twitched angrily and reached for their lightsabers. _"Are you going to save your Jedi or what?"_

The other two jumped up, lightsabers ignited, and once the ship was docked, they darted out. They mowed down the guards, not giving a second thought to the fact that these were not droids, but living, breathing creatures.

Anakin did not blink as he sliced cleanly through a man; he did not feel nauseated when the man's guts started spilling out, staining the floor forever. He did not blink as he watched the bounty hunter dismember a bulky female guard, down until she was just a pile of flesh bits and bones. He especially did not blink when he saw little L'Li mowing down a group of guards with just a throw of the lightsaber.

His mind became blank; he did not care about who or what he sliced and diced. He almost hit his companions a few times, but he did not care; he was almost like a zombie… with a slightly golden tint to his normally blue eyes.

They barely got a yard from the bridge, and they were barraged with guards….. this place was heavily fortified, it did not look like this was going to be an easy rescue.


	14. Chapter 14

Hello all who read but don't review... ;P Seriously, don't worry about it!

So this is really the last chapter - there is an epilogue, but after that, this is it. There is a sequel that I am working on, so if you wouldn't mind heading over to my profile, I have a poll for the title of it.

Thanks!

Disclaimer; Seriously, though, do I really have to go over this again? I. Don't. Own. Squat.

* * *

There was only one time in Obi-wan's entire life that he felt this rush in a fight, but it was back when he was only a padawan. This fight was entirely different; he was killing hundreds of people, potentially with families. However, that feeling was dulled with the knowing that hundreds of innocent people were on the line; the decision was already made.

He darted down the hallway with all the grace of bantha, slicing and dicing anything that got in his way; he was a bit curious as to how a space station of this size could hold so many people.

He arrived at his destination greeted by a whole lot of resistance; the prisoner block was heavily guarded, a lot of the guards being towering, green monoliths. But even they didn't stand a chance against a Jedi with a crucial mission.

Obi-wan took them down expertly, running over the disembodied heads and torsos. He slid to a stop as he searched the cells; his stomach turned as he noticed many of the inhabitants dead and smelly. He shivered and continued down the hall; the few that were dead in the beginning grew into hundreds.

He inched down the hall, grabbing the bars of each cell door; his eyes scanned the inside of the cells warily, but he found nothing.

"Come on….. give me something." He murmured quietly. A gasp from within one of the cells gave Obi-wan a spark of hope. He darted towards the cell, a smile growing on his face as someone met him on the other side. "I suspect you had a good time in here, padawan."

Ahsoka gave him a small grin, grasping the bars with weakened hands. "Yes, it was the most interesting hostage situation I've ever been in."

Obi-wan turned towards the wall, observing the controls carefully. He pressed his palm to the scanner, giving it a quick jolt of Force energy. The control panel sparked, and died, allowing the cell door to open; Obi-wan helped her out, before sitting her down outside. He gave her an extra lightsaber, before walking down the rest of the hallway; however, before he could get much farther, Ahsoka stopped him.

"There's no one else; they are either dead or gone."

Obi-wan's heart began to sink, and he grew pale. "Gone? Where?"

Ahsoka gave him a half-hearted shrug, before standing up on wobbly legs. This caused Obi-wan to notice the painful-looking bruises and ugly scars that scaled their way up her body; she was unnaturally thin, and the wonderful spirit she used to have had been extinguished.

She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering at the screaming souls heard clearly from elsewhere in the base.

"I don't know, Master Kenobi. I really don't know."

* * *

L'Li tensed as she skidded to a halt; anger coursed throughout her body as she darted into the morgue section of the space station. A scream was emitted from a coroner's mouth as she ran him through with her lightsaber; this marked her one hundred twentieth kill in the last hour or so.

She tossed the dead man in the farthest corner, before gazing around the room; it was clean, surprisingly, but it contained a few items that made her heart stop. Two of which were drugs; both illegal, with interesting side effects.

To her left lay a large supply of Rajiki. To her right lay an even larger supply of Ferin, a drug made on Dathomir. It had the ability to give the dying man an unimaginable amount of vitality, or bring the dead man back to life; some say the drug was actually a potion made by Mother Talzin herself. How they got their hands on that was a mystery; how they got that large of a quantity without the Customs catching on was also a mystery.

L'Li shook her head, her eyes scanning the room for any sign of her deceased clone friend. She found a lot of test tubes, preserved body parts, and medical instruments, but nothing that would indicate that he had been in there.

But then her eye caught on something that made her heart jump out her throat; one of the closet doors was opened just enough for her to see something orange. She rushed to the closet, and tore it open, revealing a jumble mess of clone armor and various weapons.

A warm, angry tear slid down her cheek as she found Shock's famed Phoenix helmet; with shaky hands she caressed the helmet, before turning towards the refrigeration wall. She reached for the release, and watched as all of the carcass holds popped open.

L'Li let out a choked cry, as tears trailed her face; he was not there. No one was. She would never get to say goodbye; she'd never get closure. He was gone.

She stumbled backwards, hitting the wall; she slowly slid down the wall into a small ball. She cried only for a moment, before an unbelievable anger wiped away the soul-eating sadness.

She shot up, her eyes blatantly brimmed with gold as she unsheathed her lightsaber; with a savage cry, she sliced everything in sight, completely destroying the refrigeration wall, to the point that the mechanics failed, and the holds would open and close randomly.

She destroyed the vials and the tables, leaving nothing whole behind; except Shock's helmet.

* * *

One of the harsh realities of life was its counterpart; death. People didn't have to be a Jedi to know that; you didn't have to ever experience war to know that.

For Embo, his life basically revolved around the pain and death of others; it was kind of in the contract of being a bounty hunter. Even before he was a bounty hunter, he was taught that any who fought with him probably didn't deserve to live; and most of the time it was true.

So when those guards –whether human, Duros, _Kyuzo_- launched themselves at him, his mindless predatory behavior took over, leaving no one in his way spared. Heads rolled when he had his way; and he loved it.

He darted down the halls, launching himself at a few guards; once he had them in his grasp, he slammed them against the wall, hard enough that a concussion was imminent. Their necks were snapped quite easily afterwards, as he darted down the hall once again.

He maneuvered throughout the base, taking down enemies like they were nothing. Before he knew it, he was in the lower levels of the base; no one was down there… interesting.

He stealthily wandered around, finding rooms filled with weapons and ammunition. He stepped inside, scanning the room for something in particular; not finding it, he slipped out, his eye catching on a figure at the end of the hallway.

He started for it, thinking it was an enemy, but he stopped in his tracks; the feminine figure looked quite familiar. It took just a second for everything to click in his mind; but by the time he figured out, the woman was gone.

Embo darted towards where the woman used to stand, his eyes scanning the area; she couldn't have gone too far in that amount of time.

However, she was a fast mover, as she was nowhere to be found. His attention was ripped away from the search, as a small noise was made from behind Embo; he turned just in time to dodge a bolt to the back of the head. He whipped around, a small growl escaping from his throat; it was the ringleader.

The ringleader gave Embo a small grin, as he looked up as his enemy; the human may have been large for his species, but he was still stood a little less than a foot shorter than his foe.

_"I thought you would've jumped station by now, like the coward you are."_

"Are you suggesting I'm weaker-minded than you?" The ringleader just grinned. "How would be so? You are nothing more than a mindless savage."

Embo let out a growl, before charging.

* * *

Anakin paced down the hallway, stepping over hour-dead bodies, clenching and unclenching his hands as he looked down at his comm. There was no word from Obi-wan, no word from L'Li, and he doubted he'd even get a syllable from the bounty hunter; but still it worried him. For all he knew they all could be dead; it was unlikely, but not impossible.

He rounded a corner, almost slamming into his old master and his padawan. His eyes opened wide, and his mouth opened as if to say something in the league of hello; however, Obi-wan gave him a shake of the head, before gesturing behind the breathless duo. Anakin peeked past the two, before chuckling slightly; there was a massive crowd running towards them.

"I think our welcome has been worn out. I believe it is time for us to leave."

Anakin nodded in agreement, and they started towards the ship. Obi-wan pulled out his comm., and immediately dialed L'Li; he got no response. His face fell slightly, as he turned towards Anakin; Anakin just gave him a shrug, before tugging his padawan forward.

They raced down the hallway, left and right, before they had found the ship; surprisingly, it still sat there, untouched by any wannabe getaways. They shuffled inside, before sealing the door shut.

Ahsoka looked around the ship, the slightest bit confused; it was not the _Twilight_, nor any ship she knew. She looked up at Anakin, who promptly wrapped her in a hug.

"Gods, Snips, I thought they killed you! I mean, I felt it in the Force; our bond was cut off, and I couldn't get to you through the Force. I was worried sick!"

Ahsoka return the hug, chuckling slightly. "Skyguy, you sound like my mother!"

Obi-wan let out a small chuckle, before turning towards the comm. again. He sighed, before activating the mechanism.

_"What is it?"_ A garbled, pained voice answered. Obi-wan shook his head; L'Li was getting too emotional. It wasn't the Jedi way to be so attached, but with the way she acted he highly doubted that she'd care even the slightest bit.

"We need to leave; I suggest you step up your pace and get here as soon as possible."

_"Go on and leave without me. I renounce the Jedi Order."_

And the galaxy stopped. The three Jedi within the ship paused, their eyes going wide; to renounce the Jedi Order was a great offense. Ahsoka turned to Anakin and Obi-wan, her jaw hanging agape.

"Ah, is this a friend of yours?"

Anakin nodded, before turning to his old master. Obi-wan cancelled the transmission, before trying to reach their bounty hunter informant.

_"I'm a bit busy right now."_ He shouted through the comm., accompanied with grunts of pain and coughing. _"Contact me sometime in the near future."_

Obi-wan huffed, before sighing. "I'm afraid I cannot. We must leave now."

_"Go ahead. I have a score to settle."_ With that, the second transmission end. Obi-wan turned to his former padawan, shrugging.

"I guess that's that." And the ship took to space, bound for Coruscant.

* * *

The ringleader felt weak, for once in a very long time. He rested on his all-fours, catching his breath; blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His body shuddered with convulsions, as his throat constricted; he felt weak… so weak.

Embo stood behind him, growling angrily; this man was supposed to be such a great fighter, but he couldn't even throw a punch right. He was just a bully, picking on people who were weaker than he; but Embo wasn't weak. He had tangled with the wrong person.

_"See how it feels to be the victim? See how it feels to end up broken and dejected on the floor?!"_

The ringleader let out a cough, as he received another boot to the gut. He coughed out a minute amount of blood; damn, that was not a good sign. He was hefted up by the collar, and slammed against the metal wall; a loud crack resounded throughout the hall. There went one of his ribs.

However, despite all of this, he chuckled. Embo whipped him around to face him, before grabbing at his neck.

_"Why the hell are you laughing?"_

"You are proving me right; you are just a mindless savage."

Embo gave him a vicious growl, before slamming him onto the floor. The ringleader moaned, trying to take in the air that had been knocked out of him; he wheezed and hacked, but he didn't get any sympathy from his opponent. He just got a hard boot to the stomach.

_"You wanna see savage?!"_ The ringleader choked, spewing up blood; however, he stood up, and assumed defensive stance. Embo fought the urge to roll his eyes incredulously, noting how much his opponent favored his left leg and right arm. _"Do you think you can beat me?"_

"I've got a chance." He took a step forward, his face distorting in pain. Embo chuckled slightly, watching as the ringleader tried to compose himself; Embo knew that every move was painful for him… perfect.

The outmatched human threw a sloppy punch, which Embo easily rerouted; within a split second of the ringleader's attack, his opponent had his arm locked in a hold. With a quick jerk in an unnatural direction, the arm was broken, causing the ringleader to shout out in pain.

"Damn it!" He cradled his left arm gently, as spikes of pain shot through him. He had been beat, but he was too prideful to admit it; he'd never admit it.

He glanced up, noticing that the bounty hunter no longer stood before him. He started forward, as if to try to hobble away, but he was stopped; a cold, razor-thin blade slowly passed through his back, and out his abdomen.

He let out a bloody howl, as blood flowed forth from the entry and exit wounds; a warm stream trickled down his body, creating a small puddle at his feet. He was pushed to the floor, forced to lie in his own, fresh blood.

_"Have fun getting out of this one alive."_

And he was left alone to die, beaten, in a heap on the floor.


	15. Epilogue

Hey y'all. This is the epilogue. I'll have a new poll concerning this chapter soon, and votes would be great.

Disclaimer: Nope. Not me... If it was I would've kept the Clovis arc in season 5

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_Back at the Jedi Temple..._

Ahsoka stared out the window in her room back at the Jedi temple; she never thought Coruscant would look so beautiful and familiar to her. How she had missed this place….

She turned slightly, looking on at her Master; he looked back uncertainly, as he reviewed the medical documents the healers gave him after examining his padawan. He gave her a sigh, before walking towards her.

"Well, there are some things you should know."

Ahsoka got up out of the chair she sat at, and met him half way, before gesturing for him to sit down on the ground with her.

"Go on, Master. I am ready for whatever you throw at me."

Anakin looked down at the stitches on her arm, where the Force-suppressing chip had once been. He sighed, before looking upwards.

"Well, you have contracted a few minor diseases from your, um, various forms of torture, which the healers and the medics plan to cure as soon as you are up to another visit."

Ahsoka had known this much; it didn't take a genius to figure that brilliant hypothesis. However, she was unprepared for what came next.

"Unfortunately, the treatments will interrupt the development of the life-form within you."

Ahsoka's world halted to a stop. With mouth agape and tears welling in her eyes, she looked at her master. "I'm pregnant?!"

Anakin nodded. "Yes, Snips, you are pregnant."

Ahsoka blinked back the tears that welled in her eyes, as her hand wandered down to her abdomen. She pulled it back, as she let the tears fall; her recently closed emotional wounds had reopened. She curled around herself, rocking back and forth as tears fell.

"I'm scared, Skyguy."

Anakin took his padawan into his arms, lovingly stroking her lekku as he let her cry on his shoulder; she seemed like a child in his arms. He was determined to make her better and protect her; he had to. His little sister would never have to endure anything like that again.

"I am too, Snips. I am too."

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_Elsewhere…._

Chancellor Palpatine was frustrated; actually, he was more on the terms of livid. That little debacle about the disappearances had set the war back a month, and had the Republic start taxes and collections to wrangle up that hostage demand that were totally unnecessary; he had found out from the Council that the dumbass leader had killed everyone by the time they had gotten there. Now he had thirteen million in the account for a hostage crisis that was over before it began.

He steeped his hands, as his major domo Mas Ameda entered.

"You called for me?"

Palpatine nodded, as he got up, and walked over towards him. "I believe we have a problem. I would like to call a senate meeting; we need to discuss what to do with the money for the hostages."

Mas Ameda chuckled slightly. "The crisis fell through?"

Palpatine nodded, a sneer forming on his face. "Yes. Now get the meeting rolling; schedule it for… midday tomorrow."

Mas Ameda bowed, before exiting. Palpatine turned towards the large picture window in his office, looking out upon Coruscant; he was most displeased.


End file.
